So this is how it starts
by Belles.diner
Summary: Logan and Rory on the night of the botched proposal. Logan is freaking out, Rory is mad because that proposal was crap, and the graduation isn't the only life changing news? Bumping up to T due to language. I know the 12/3 update got posted twice. It's due to me deleting AN chapter. I'd delete the duplicate but I'm scared of more glitches. Sorry! Hope you enjoy otherwise. :)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Still don't own GG. Can we just make this a blanket statement for the whole fanfic?

Chapter 1: So, this is how it starts?

" _You amaze me Rory Gilmore, every day."_ His proposal kept running through her head, like a constant loop while she packed more and more boxes. They had been through more together than she would have thought possible, hell they stole a yacht together. They had been talking about the future, even beyond that "I'll factor you in." _Yeah, some factoring in he did. Couldn't have given me a little heads up?_ But it's not like she was giving much heads up anyway, was she? Because there, on top of the last box of books, and placed right next to the ring box was a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test. She had taken it this morning, way before the botched proposal, way before the stress of tomorrow set in. She was planning on having him come back to her apartment that night, spackle some more, pack, and after making it to bed she would tell him and hope for the best. Good news, she knew he wanted to marry her before he found out. That's a good sign, right? She had to call him, they can't have this conversation on Yale grounds where she graduated, where he bought her coffee, where the made out under the tree she spent $20 on to study under. No, this needed to be in private.

"Logan, please, just sit down."

"SHE HAS TO THINK ABOUT IT?!"

"Come on, you know Rory, she gets like this. She has to plan things out and you dumped everything onto the table and expected her to pick it back up."

"Do not take her side Colin!"

"There are no sides! There is me, telling you, to calm the hell down and give her a few minutes." Colin had been trying to reason with Logan for an hour and was not able to get through to him at all. _Why did he have to propose like that? Why didn't they discuss shit? And why the hell did Finn disappear._ Logan's phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts along with Logan's exhausted face as he stared at his phone where Rory's face flashed across it. "Well, aren't you going to answer it?"

"What if she's calling to say no?"

"She has more respect for you guys than that. Just answer." But before Logan could, the phone switched over to voicemail. Only to ring a few seconds later.

"Um, hello?" Logan tried to sound confident but there was so much vulnerability in his voice that Colin would have mocked him mercilessly if the situation was a tad more appropriate.

"Hey Logan, it's me. Can you come over? I just think we need to talk this over and I'd really like to do it together."

"Of course, I love you, I'll see you soon."

Colin didn't even register he was leaving until he heard the door slam and Finn magically reappeared out of the back room. "Oh, so now you show your face?"

RLRL

As Rory waited for Logan to make his way over, she was more nervous than she had anticipated. _This is Logan, your Logan, why do you think he'll run from this? He loves you, and babies like California and sun, right?_ Before she could delve deep into the idea of a sun-bleached baby boy with his dad's golden locks, she heard Logan coming up the steps. Before he reached her door, she opened it and ushered him in but just as the door was starting to close he was already off and ranting.

"Rory, I need to know what the hell is going on here! I told you I loved you, I told you I want to marry you, I committed and now you're pulling the breaks! Rory, I'm terrified and now I'm even more scared because it's just the two of us here and what you didn't want an audience while you rip my heart to shreds?"

"Are you done yet? Because I couldn't follow that for anything. Calm down, breathe, take a seat on one of these boxes. There's a lot we have to talk about. For one, I love you, I want to be with you more than I can ever describe to you. You think I haven't thought of you asking me before? There were some days I wanted nothing more than for you to ask me. But you chose the moment, in front of my grandparent's friends to ask me and quite honestly that threw me because that is not at all how I pictured that you would do it. We deserved better than that Logan. Then, not only is that how you proposed but you tell me all about uprooting our lives to California. A place I have never even travelled to before you expect me to move without questioning it? Where was the factoring in part Logan? Where did you sit down and think about me and what is next for me? Logan, I graduate tomorrow, and that's not even the most life changing thing happening in the past 24 hours."

"I know, I know the proposal was way off. I know that there were things I could do differently, but God Rory, I was, actually I still am, so scared of losing you. Yes, the job in California is great but if you don't like it then I'll say screw the job, screw the avocado tree, screw it all I just want to be with you."

"What if I'm saying that you can't be with just me?"

"What are you talking about? Rory, why not?! I told you! I told you and I've proven to you that I can be with just you, that I want to be with just you. I proposed for God's sakes, why are you trying to throw it away? You know what? Fine, I'll just walk out, I have some friends that are graduating tomorrow so I'll be there to see them, but I will avoid you and we can have a clean break." As Logan turned on his heel after pacing for what felt like hours during his rants, he made his way towards the door.

"Would you stop only hearing what you want to hear? It's infuriating."

"You told me I couldn't be with you!"

"No, you miscreant. I said it's not just me." With her eyes focused solely on Logan with an intensity and vulnerability he had never seen before she slowly lifted the pregnancy test that had been sitting on one of the boxes. Hidden in plain sight as Logan was to distracted by the emotions and fear running through him.

"Wait a minute, wait, what is that? Is that…." He trailed off as he looked at her with as much fear as he had before but with something bubbling underneath. It wasn't until he saw that the hand holding the test had the ring he had spent hours searching for was placed directly on her left ring finger. He didn't know what really made him run over to her and hug her, he wasn't sure if it was the ring that finally silenced (almost) all of his fears, or if it was the fact that she was pregnant, something he didn't realize he would even be okay with, let alone happy about, until now.

"So, does that house with the avocado tree have room for another one of us? Oh god, another one of you. Help us all if this child is anything like you."

"Another one of us. Holy cow Ace. We're actually doing this? And you're sure about your answer? Actually, on second thought give me back the ring?"

"What, now that there's a baby you're taking back the proposal?" She tried to hide the worry in her voice, but it slipped in there. She knew absentee fathers happened, hell just look at her dad who didn't even show up to her hometown until she was 16. She slipped the ring off and handed it to him.

"Of course not! But I'm doing this right Ace." He put the ring back into the blue velvet box and got down on one knee. "Rory Gilmore, from the girl who yelled at me outside of her dorm room, to the brave soul who jumped off a platform with me for reasons I will never understand, to the woman who stood by when I burned my whole world down, to my Ace. This is how I should have done this or rented out the New York Library or through a sky diver, regardless, I'm hoping I'm doing this right this time. Lorelei Leigh Gilmore, will you marry me?"

"Without a doubt."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: We don't have to tell her, right?

A/N: Short chapter, I'm sorry. Should have another one up tonight.

Logan woke up to a Rory who he was pretty positive was on fire. They had shared a bed, hell they had shared an apartment for months, and even when she was sick she was never this warm. He wanted to let her sleep, he wanted her to remain wrapped around him as secure as possible with just a sheet and the ring on, but the clock on her side of the bed was showing that she had to get up and get dressed if she was going to make it to her ceremony.

"Hey beautiful, wake up." Logan nudged her forehead with his chin. When that didn't work he tried a little harder. "Ahem, my amazingly beautiful fiancé can you please get up? You have a graduation ceremony to attend, and your mother should be here in about 30 minutes." With that Rory shot up and out of bed before Logan could fully say good morning.

"OH MY GOD MY MOTHER!"

"Uh yeah, she was coming over to help you get ready, wasn't she?"

"She doesn't know! Oh my god, what is she going to kill me for first?"

"Wait, she doesn't know? You didn't tell her?" Logan looked bewildered, he would have thought Lorelei would have known about the baby before anyone.

"Well when did we have a moment to stop last night for me to call my mother?" Rory deadpanned, with a very pointed look shot in Logan's direction.

"Hey, there was that moment- oh wait, no, I forgot you were preoccupied."

"You're incorrigible and I'm officially late."

"Of course, you're late, that's why the need for the pregnancy test." Logan was having to much fun goading her to realize that they had spent 10 minutes of the thirty minutes they had. It wasn't until he stopped for a second that he noticed that she was scared. "What's wrong Ace?"

"It's just, I'm not ready to have all the conversations today, the baby, the engagement. I don't want her to think that I said yes because of the baby. I don't want her to think that this isn't what I want. Because it is. It's all I want at this point."

"Okay, so then we take today. You take off the ring, tell her we decided to take a few days and just be us a bit, that I made a mistake proposing to you the way I did, and we want to just take a breath and focus on your graduation. As for the pregnancy, drink your coffee slowly, take it easy, and that can come out another time too. After the engagement announcement, after the graduation buzz wears down, we need to get a doctor's appointment set up anyway. I am surprised you didn't tell her though." Logan added that last sentence hoping Rory wouldn't hear the slight bitterness in his voice.

"I wanted you to know first. I had it all planned out and I was going to tell you last night anyway. It's a matter between us, it's up to us to decide when we tell people, and I want you there with me when I do."

"Of course, anything you need. Have you made a doctor's appointment?"

"Yep! Next Tuesday, 9 am. You're more than welcome to come, it will probably be nothing, so no pressure obviously. But if you'd like—"Logan cut off her rant.

"I'd love to be there."

"We really don't have to tell her yet?"

"Not if you don't want to. But, it may be a good idea for us to get me out of here. Want to give me your ring again?"

"I'm beginning to get a complex with how many times you've asked for the single most important piece of my jewelry back."

"Calm down! It's just for today when we're around everyone. But I really should be going!" Logan was grabbing his shirt off the top of a box when Rory stopped him, and he turned around in time to see her holding a camera up and snapping a picture of his bare chest.

"Just adding it to my collection." She said with a wink as she gave him a kiss and pushed him out of her apartment.

Not ten minutes after he left was there a knock on her door, she opened it to reveal her mother with a defeated look in her eye that confused her until she heard another voice filtering up the steps.

"What is this place?! Lorelei how can you let her live in this squalor?! Lorelei, Lorelei, where did you run off to?" As Emily Gilmore reached the top of the steps her complaints quickly turned to the resident of the apartment herself. "Rory Gilmore, I expected better from you. How can you possibly be happy here? How can Logan let you live like this, or Christopher for that matter? I cannot believe any of you, if Richard had decided to join me today he'd have another heart attack. Do you hear me young lady?"

"Mom, all of Connecticut can hear you right now, please calm down." Lorelei looked exhausted and it was barely 8:30 in the morning. Leaning over to Rory she whispered "I'm sorry kid. She showed up at the house this morning and demanded she be included. I hadn't slept well, and I wasn't fully awake and well, here she is."

"It's fine mom, don't worry. And Grandma, please know that I'm moving out tonight, it was a perfectly fine place to live, we had security in our own special way." Rory was officially over this gathering and was ready for the day to get started. "Guys let's get me ready, we can head to the school I can see if I can sufficiently walk across a stage. We will go to a nice lunch and then we can forget I ever lived here. Sound like a good plan?" _Please let it be this easy, please, please, please let it be this easy._

"And how many of us will be at the lunch today Rory?" Emily asked in a prying way, _of course it can't be this easy._ Rory thought to herself. She also didn't miss her mother's pointed glance, that if Rory had any guts left at all she would point out that she looked just like Emily when she did that.

"Well, there will be me, you and Grandpa, mom, dad, and…. well... Logan."

"Oh, so Logan will be there?! How marvelous! That's great. Okay, well I will just make sure that the restaurant knows, and we are good to go." As Emily was breathing a sigh of relief Lorelei had a much less relieved look on her face. However, Rory couldn't focus on that right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **A/N: I wish I would have combined last chapter and this chapter, also I bumped the rating to T because of language. Anyway, these chapters will be longer and I am so sorry!**

That last night his whole life was transformed. 2 months ago, he was on the path his father had set up, his preordained life that he had thrown in her face in a fight, that he had thrown in his father's face in what was originally a fit of rebellion. That life was gone, sure, some of the money had remained, but the plans were no longer looming around a corner. Right now, there was a woman that he loved, carrying their child, who had always had almost unwavering faith in him. And while he had been a rock for her last night, after his freak out, and while he had put on a brave face this morning in the conversation with regards to her mother he was more than rattled. He had been prepared to start a life with her, he had been prepared to join a new company and start a new adventure. He just wasn't prepared for that new adventure to include an extra mouth to feed, an extra life to take care of, and that thought was starting to make itself known.

He was happy, god he was so damn happy. But that didn't stop the fear from bubbling up inside of him. The fear that he would become his father, the fear that the job in California wouldn't take off and he would be taking Rory away from her comfort zone for no other reason than his own selfishness, and in her fragile state too! _Oh my god, if I say fragile state to her, she will kill me._ Logan had not realized where he was walking when he found himself outside Colin and Finn's apartment. Throwing the ring back into his pocket he had decided to stone his face, he knew that it would take every ounce of self-control not to tell them everything that was happening.

"Hey buddy, is that a ring in your pocket or are you just happy to see us?" Logan's face went from a stone, almost cold expression, into a bemused smirk.

Colin didn't see the smirk across his buddy's face, "Finn dear god, our man here just got his proposal rejected and you're rubbing it in his face? Logan, man, I'm sorry. Where have you been all night?"

"Don't worry Colin, it's fine. Rory and I are good, we're just taking a few days, still together, still happy, we just need to focus on her graduation. It was a dumb idea to propose to her like that." Logan hoped that the party line he had given to Rory to tell her mom earlier would work. God, please let it work. Thankfully Colin and Finn, were well, Colin and Finn. They both went back to their respective rooms to crash for a little bit longer before the ceremony while Logan took the couch he was originally going to sleep in last night. He had been cursing himself for not keeping the New Haven studio apartment that they had shared together. It was such a nice place, but with him in New York so much and Rory refusing to live there anymore after their stupid fight about her article, it was a waste of money.

As he pulled out his phone he saw the picture he had taken last night of Rory, it was after the news of the baby, after they had finished packing, and after she had fallen asleep with her left hand laying on her stomach. It had personified what he had thought about earlier, a new start and a new life, and a whole hell of a lot of responsibilities. Just as those thoughts were starting to invade his mind he got a text, _*Dear god, save me. Emily showed up. *_ He quickly shot of a text of his own, assuring her that it was going to be a good day at the end of it and that soon she'd be a Yale graduate with Honors. With that, he decided to pass out for a few extra hours.

RLRLRL

As he stood in the courtyard waiting for the ceremony to start he saw a flash of the overly fluffed head of hair that had haunted him for 25 years, well maybe when he was a toddler it wasn't so ominous, but now it was filling his stomach with a sense of foreboding.

"Good morning son, what are you doing here?"

"Good morning dad, I'm here to support Rory, she's graduating today." Logan's voice was curt, guarded and with a hint of annoyance that he had hoped wouldn't slip in, but inevitably did anytime he was dealing with Mitchum.

"Oh, is she actually able to graduate? How… nice. I was just here to check on the old alma mater, seemed like as good of time as any."

"Dad, I haven't trusted you since I was old enough to know what that secretary was doing in your office after hours. Cut the bullshit now." The annoyance had given way to anger, the guard was down, and he was bound and determined not to let the piece of shit that had already taken so much away from Rory, take away more.

"I believe this where I take my leave Logan. We will be in touch." As he watched Mitchum walk away he locked eyes with Rory who was standing in line waiting to walk, she sent him a questioning look while he sent her a reassuring smile and made his way to his seat.

Making a point to sit by the Gilmore's and trying to avoid a very weary looking Lorelei who was trying to read his expression. Trying not to give anything away he gave her a small smile and a small nod of the head as the names were called. He smiled for the girl who had been a constant fixture in his life ever since Rory had entered as well. Paris Gellar, the girl who had no problem putting him in his place, who defended her best friend fiercely and unapologetically, who inadvertently given him the push to make one of the best decisions in asking Rory to move in.

Then, before he knew it he watched Rory walk across the stage, with a small amount of tongue sticking out to her mother, and a small wiggle of her eyebrows to him, she had done it. She had accomplished what she almost gave up, and he almost couldn't be happier. _Damn you Mitchum, for messing with today._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

AN: Dear God, I hope this is longer, seriously 1,000 words chapters just aren't as fun to read.

"Logan my boy! So good to see you." If anyone ever thought Mitchum Huntzberger had a booming voice, they had clearly never met Richard Gilmore. As they all stood around waiting for Rory to come meet them after the ceremony it was hard not to notice the nervous energy in the air.

"It's good to see you too Richard, congratulations to you, Emily and Lorelei, this is an amazing day." Logan couldn't help the beam of pride that shone through his words and smile. He knew they were supposed to play it cool, but he couldn't help it. He was a proud fiancé.

"That it is, that it is." Richard agreed from next to Logan. As Lorelei opened her mouth to say something, she was cut off by Emily.

"It would have been a great day if I hadn't had to go to that crack den earlier!" Logan's eyes shot open in surprise while Lorelei and Richard simultaneously rolled their eyes and Christopher chuckled quietly to himself.

"I'm sorry Emily, a crack den?" It took so much strength to bite the laugh threatened to drift into his question.

"Yes, that is the only suitable descriptor for that bread box she calls an apartment." Her outburst made sense now, Logan hated that apartment, how could he not? It was in an unsafe neighborhood, with an unstable roommate, and no door man. Of course, he hated it, and he hated that she had moved back in there.

"I will say Emily, I have to agree with you there." With this 3 sets of eyes shot up at him. "Well, I didn't feel the place was safe enough for her."

"Oh god, not you too." With those 5 words all eyes that were originally trained on him quickly spun to the woman of the hour.

"My little college graduate!" Lorelei quickly pushed her way to the front of the crowd and engulfed Rory in a hug while Rory sent a slightly out of breath apology to everyone else in the crowd. After the congratulations and hugs were doled out, and the pictures were taken with every single combination possible, they had all agreed to meet at the restaurant. As they were separating, Rory asked for a minute alone before they all left. Lorelei sent her a pointed and concerned look before telling her she'd meet her the car.

As Lorelei walked to her car Emily stopped her mid- stride. "Do you think she is giving him an answer? Should we have not included him in any of the pictures? My word, why didn't she just say yes last night?" Emily had gotten the questions out at rapid pace, and Lorelei had to take a minute to form a response that wouldn't set off World War 3.

"I don't know mom, she hasn't mentioned it to me. Honestly, I wasn't even sure he'd sit with us today at the ceremony, let alone be in the pictures with us. She hasn't talked to me about any of it." There was so much bitterness in her voice that it wouldn't have taken a Yale graduate to figure out her opinion about the potential engagement of her daughter. Emily sent out one more withering stare before they veered off in the opposite directions of their cars.

RL

Rory hugged Logan as closely as she could while he kissed the top of her head. "You did it Ace, I'm so damn proud of you." He whispered into her hair while he kissed her again.

"I want to announce the engagement at lunch, there's the important people there, I just want to do it in one fell swoop, if you don't mind? Plus, mom, she keeps staring at me, wanting me to break. I just can't take the scrutiny."

"God, you're telling me, the whole ceremony I kept feeling her eyes on me like she was trying to find out where the weapons of mass destruction are, and the map was on my face. I think announcing it at the lunch is a good idea. Everyone is in a good mood, and they're so proud of you. As they should be, you did amazing up there." He added with that same beaming smile on his face.

"Okay, and one more request for lunch?"

"Anything!"

"Do not bring up my apartment, please. I'm done, it's over it's time for everyone to move on." Logan just smiled back at her request and agreed with a simple nod of his head against her own. And with one last squeeze Rory let go and they made their way to the parking lot. "I wish we didn't have to take separate cars, but my mom would throw a fit if I didn't ride with her today, although why it matters so much I do not understand, but I'm not in the mood to rock the boat today."

"I completely understand, I'll see you in a few minutes." He kissed her knuckles and let go of her hand as she made her way to her mother's jeep.

Before she even had time to close the door her mother's line of questioning started. "So, will Logan still be joining us this afternoon?" You could hear that she was trying to keep the question casual but was failing miserably.

"Of course, why wouldn't he be?" The answer came out quickly, and a little to squeaky for Rory's desired effect but it would have to do at this point.

"I just mean, didn't you turn him down back there? Why would he want to celebrate the girl who just broke his heart?"

If Rory didn't keep her eyes focused on the road ahead, if she had dared to look at her mother, the fury would have been unleashed. Instead she used every reserve to keep her tone light, her voice even, but her message clear. "We have decided to take a few days, focus on the graduation, he regrets proposing like that. We are just spending a few days getting our bearings." That answer seemed to satisfy Lorelei, because soon she was talking about all the plans she had for them, starting with a movie night, with a rollercoaster tour in the middle, and ending with a movie night.

"Mom, you know I may get a job, right? Or Logan and I might move out to California together? I can't schedule a summer off anymore, as much as I wish I could." And she did wish she could, it would be wonderful to take one last summer off, to enjoy the fruits of her labor for just a few months of silly self-indulgence. But that wasn't allowed to be in the plan anymore. She had Logan to think about, she had his job, and their life to consider now, and their child that now relied on her to be a functioning adult. Instinctively and without it being noticed by Rory, her hand lightly rubbed her stomach. It was so subtle that the driver of the jeep didn't notice.

"I know kid, I just hope things don't change to quickly. Hey, did I tell you about the talk Luke and I had outside the diner last night?"

"No! You guys are talking again, and you want to talk about things changing! What happened?"

"I came in and he seemed genuinely happy to see me. I bragged about you of course. But I don't know, it just was calm, and we had a good moment between the two of us. I miss him kid. I really do. He was just easy you know? We just loved each other so fiercely and so much, and I don't think that can go away. He gets me in a way where I don't have to apologize for being myself around him, I don't have to worry that if I say or do the wrong thing, he will completely cut me out for good. And he makes it so easy to just be around him. I just wish I could know where his head was at, know if he loves me the same way I love him."

"Mom, I'm sure he does. He would be insane not to."

"I know, and I'm sure he does in his way, but what if it isn't enough for us in the long run? We both did some really screwed up things. I don't know how to come back from that."

Rory was out of words to say, she had some fights she could bring up about her and Logan, but she didn't think that bringing up all the ways Logan had broken her heart, and vice versa would be a good conversation to have right before she tells her mother that they're engaged. So, with no more words able to be said, both due to lack of words, and lack of time, as they were pulling into the club now, Rory squeezed her mom's hand and got out of the car.

RLRL

"You know, weddings are a wonderful event for any family." Emily hammered on, as another one of her DAR friends had stopped to tell Rory congratulations and also announced that her grandson was getting married. Rory and Logan shared an eyeroll across the table, while Lorelei twitched nervously. Her little talk with Rory did nothing to squash the uneasy feeling she had about the two of them and what the decision would ultimately be in the end. "Yes, weddings are such a lovely occasion." Emily once again added wistfully.

As they dessert was being cleared, Logan slipped Rory's ring on her finger underneath the table, and he squeezed her hand letting her know it was time and that he was right there next to her the whole time. So, with that vote of confidence in mind, Rory cleared her throat, Logan hid a small smile, Richard and Emily focused on Rory, while Lorelei steeled herself for what was to come next.

"I just want to say a little something to all of you. First to my mom and dad, without whom I wouldn't be alive today. Mom, you've given me a life a girl can only dream of, you made my dreams come true, including ones I didn't know I had. You filled our house with laughter, and love, and almost unwavering support, you put so much of your life on hold for me and I just want to say thank you.

To my amazing grandparents. You gave me the opportunities of a lifetime, you never made me feel like I couldn't do anything I set my mind to and you always made sure I had a place to land through it all. I'm so thankful for all of you.

And now, to Logan. You stood by me when I felt my world collapsing, you helped me explore a side to me I didn't know existed, and you awoke a fire in me that has led me to be worthy of the name Ace. You continue to remind me how to take chances and how to live life remembering the most important values. I could not ask for a better man to spend my life with." With that bomb dropped, she grabbed the champagne flute that had been filled with a sparkling cider for her, using her left hand and showed everyone the ring that was carefully placed there a few moments ago by Logan.

Emily squealed, loudly and without inhibitions for a moment until she realized where she was. Richard and Christopher took turns shaking Logan's hand and giving Rory a hug in celebration. But through all of those moments Rory's eyes only focused on Lorelei's eyes. The amount of happiness and warmth that were in Rory's eyes were replaced with tears that mirrored her mother's. And without a moment's notice, Lorelei was out of her seat and in the parking lot, with Rory close on her tail.

"YOU LIED TO ME!" Lorelei spun around and spat out before she could try to stop herself. "Not even a hour and a half ago you told me you hadn't come to a decision, and unless you said yes between the salad and the main course, you lied! Why Rory? Why on earth wouldn't you tell me?!"

"Because I knew it would lead to this! I knew it would lead to you being mad, and acting like I was making a huge mistake. I just needed to be happy with him for a minute."

"So, when did you say yes?"

"Last night." Rory was staring at the ground now, to ashamed to look at her mother, and also to hurt that there was another moment in her life that he mother could not just be happy for her, or be supportive of her.

"LAST NIGHT?! 18 hours and you couldn't tell me that you were engaged?! I can't, I can't be here right now Rory. I'm sorry, I love you, but I need to breathe." And with that, Lorelei got in her car, wheels pointed to Luke's diner.

As she peeled out of the parking lot, the rest of the party had now made it outside. Logan wrapped his arms around Rory and he kissed her forehead before they said their goodbyes to the rest of her family.

RLRL

Late that night, as they laid in bed in his New York city apartment, the scene of some awful fights, and some wonderful makeups, Logan held an exhausted Rory in his arms. "I just don't get why she can't be happy for us."

"Well…"

"You're defending her? Really?"

"It's not that I'm defending her per say, it's just that I get it. I've screwed up more times than I can count, and I can count pretty damn high. I made her book worm, studious daughter do crazy stunts, get drunk, steal a yacht, get community service, drop out of Yale, she caught me trying to undress you when we weren't officially dating, she caught me on a date with another girl when we weren't exclusive, I've ran away from problems, didn't properly dump you, just lost a ton of money. Actually, now that I think about it, why are you with me?" He added that last sentence as a joke but there was a small bit of a questioning to it. Why was she with him?

"I would just like to say that some of those things you did not make me do, you were not the root cause of the problems, and lord knows I've made my own mistakes in this relationship too. Look, we're not perfect, but you make me so happy. You work your ass off to make me happy, to make sure I know that you care and that you're aware of your shortcomings. I've told her before that I thought you were the one. I just don't understand why this was a huge surprise to her."

"That's true, especially since I did ask her permission to marry you. Wait, when did you tell her you thought I was the one?"

"You asked her permission?!"

"I asked first." He smirked at her as she started to answer.

"It was when we went to the Vineyard for Valentine's day. I told her that you and Luke could be the ones. The fact that you gave Luke a gift for her helped solidify that fact." She gave him a wink. "Now, you asked her permission?"

"You knew I did that for Luke?"

"Ah, ah, ah, mister, I asked first."

"Of course, I asked her permission, it was a few weeks ago, after I got back from California. I had the ring for a while, I just wasn't sure what was going to happen between my dad and me and the job. I didn't know what I could offer you. Once I had a plan, I felt it was the best time to ask."

"The jewelry was a perfect matching set, it was great, and you were a great guy for doing that."

"Luke is a good guy, that was just a rough weekend overall. By the way, I had that ring in London."

"I didn't ask." Rory said, knowing that the exact question he had answered had been on her mind.

"I know, but you wanted to know. It had been a few days after the dirty text message." When he could see her about to interrupt, he hurried his explanation. "You were willing to go out of your comfort zone for me, for us, and you were standing by me while I was sent away. You made light of the situation and hid your hurt because you knew that I would have been on the next plane home. You put my needs ahead of your own and it killed me. It killed me how much I missed you, how much you were willing to deal with without me. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

She was so taken aback by her words she didn't know what to say, so instead she focused on their Valentine's day weekend. "That really was an almost perfect weekend. Until Mitchum ruined it."

"Yeah, he has a tendency to do things like that, Valentine's day, graduation days."

"Oh yeah, he did keep you out late on your graduation day, didn't he?"

"That he did, but I wasn't talking about mine."

"What are you talking about then?" She asked the question, but she didn't need to, she knew she wouldn't like the answer.

"He was there today. I don't know why, I don't know what he wanted. He made a snide comment, I may have made a few back." With this she gave him a glare before he relented. "Okay, I definitely gave a few back. I just didn't want him getting any ideas about ruining your day."

"Well, HE definitely didn't."

"I know, I'm sorry Ace." He kissed her deeply as his hand ran across her stomach.

"It's not your fault, I just wonder what he wanted."

"Probably just wanted to play a mind game with us. Listen, I know that today was exhausting, and I hate to bring this up, but you need to talk to Lorelei."

"I know, but I want to spend the weekend here, in our bubble for a few days. Then on Monday night we can drive back into Hartford and go to my doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Then, maybe after that?"

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **A/N: I guess last chapter was a little bit longer, huh? I also just want to say, I appreciate all of the reviews. Thank you guys so much!**

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

Logan looked at Rory like she had 3 heads, how could she be calm about this? Why was he freaking out, he suspected he would have to be the one that was calming her down, but standing outside of her doctor's office, Logan was positive that he was on the verge of a panic attack. As Rory watched his panicked face turn to one of complete disbelief she couldn't keep a straight face anymore.

"Logan, I'm scared too. But come on, this is just another life-changing event. We just had one of those remember? You didn't seem this nervous when you proposed."  
"Hey, if I remember you had to take a bit of time to ponder that engagement, need I remind you!"

Rory cringed at that reminder, she knew he understood why she had taken some time to look at the list, but she still felt that for even a minute he didn't think she was all in. "Yeah, yeah, we need to head in. You ready, Huntzberger?"

"Gilmore, Dr. Snowden will be with you in a moment." The nurse quickly left after she had taken Rory's vitals. As Rory looked over at the ultrasound machine her face started to get paler and paler and Logan couldn't help but smile as she looked more panicked.

"So, Ace, feeling the fear yet?"

"You know, you're not cute. I would just like you to be aware." Rory sent the best glare she could muster over to him, while her insides were completely tangled up.

"Wow, I really hope our kid get my personality and social skills, because yours can use some work."

Just as Rory was about to retort, the door opened up to reveal a middle-aged woman with a Russian accent. "Good morning Rory! When I saw your name on my schedule I was confused as I felt that I just saw you, then I saw the reason! So, let's see if congratulations are in order." As she was saying this she had started up the ultrasound machine and had started her exam.

Logan had originally planned on focusing on Rory, but the moment that the machine came to life he was powerless to stop himself from staring at the black and white screen. Because he couldn't see anything outside of the monitor he missed the doctor's face light up as she pointed to the tiny flicker on the screen. It wasn't until the sound of a whooshing train filled the room. Rory and Logan's face both looked confused for a moment before the doctor smiled.

"That little flicker, is making that big noise. That is your baby's heartbeat." Rory had let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and at that exact moment Logan squeezed her hand a little tighter than he had been ever since they had entered the room.

"I'm going to take a few more measurements, everything is looking great, and then you guys are free to go. Congratulations mom and dad."

As they left the doctor's office they stared at the pictures that were in Rory's hands. "Okay, let's go home, and regroup, we can grab lunch by the time we get back to New York, get ready for the move to California. What day do you start work out there? Oh, and Dr. Snowden gave me a list of OBs she can recommend in San Diego and Palo Alto so that is something we will have to look into, oh and of course packing up the New York apartment. Let's see what else?"

"Well, we need to go see your mom."

"Logan, no. I did nothing wrong, I'm not going to go to her, she can come to me."

"Okay, after your decision to move into the pool house, I stood by you, and I'm glad I did, don't get me wrong. But this is different. This isn't being gone by 30 minutes, this is moving across the country, not only that but it's moving across the country with her grandchild. Rory, you need to go talk to her. I'm not happy with her reaction, I'm furious with her treatment of you, but I will not leave this state, we will hole ourselves up in a hotel, hell the Dragonfly if I have to, but you are talking to her." He had more on his mind, more he wanted to say, but then Rory's phone chirped. As she stole a quick glance to Logan she opened her phone to read the message. Suddenly she blew a short breath out of her nose as she squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"She wants to meet me at her house at 1," Rory stole a glance at the clock and saw that her appointment and brought them to 10:30. "I have to go, don't I?"

"Do you _have to?"_ Rory gave him a death glare at his emphasis.

"Logan, we just got confirmation that we're going to be parents, 4 days after I graduated, and we got engaged, can't we just be happy today?"

"I am happy, I'm ecstatic, a little, well more a lot panicked. But I don't think you'll be truly happy until you and your mom are good." Rory knew he was right, but she didn't want to give in that easily. "I have an idea, let's go hit a few stores, see what baby stuff we can find, see if we can find any good pregnancy and parenting books, and then grab lunch. After that, I will head in the direction of Stars Hollow. If you think you can handle it I will drive to your mom's house, but if you really think that it will be to much then I will turn back, and we will stay at a hotel until you think you can do it. But I have to tell you, I think the longer you put it off the worse it will be."

"Did I hear you say books?"

"That's my girl." Logan shot her a smirk while he patted her knee. She wanted to shoot him one more glare but before she could she saw the pictures that were sitting in her lap.

"Logan, what if that's our girl?" Her voice was timid, quiet, but there was an undercurrent of happiness, of contentedness.

"If that is our girl," he choked on his words, "If that is our girl then I am stocking up on Jane Austen novels and coffee."

"And if it's a boy, what, Dickens and scotch?" Logan had to chuckle at that.

"I was thinking for a boy, I'd just make a bail fund." For that one Rory groaned, realization hit that Logan had a few reputations, one of the many being that he had blown through private schools like a whirling dervish of destruction. Hearing this Logan got a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Hey, our girl could be just as bad, and on the bright side, at least Colin and Finn don't have little boys that could partners in crime."

"Oh my God, Colin and Finn! Have you even told them?"

"What, about the engagement? Yeah, I called them the other night after 10 missed calls from Finn, let them know you said yes."

"No, you dolt. About the baby!"

"Did you," Logan started bewildered, "Did you just call me a dolt?"

"Oh, hush and answer question."

"No, I didn't tell them about the baby. I figured that for one, we'd do it together, and for two, we would wait until we made sure everything was okay and…" He trailed off, not wanting to bring up her mother.

"Aaannddd?" Rory was pressing him, having a feeling of where he left off but wanting to be sure.

"And until we told your mother." He relented, reluctantly. He really wanted her to just enjoy the midmorning before she was faced with the Stars Hollow sign. Rory let out a sigh and the perked up when she noticed the book store and Logan was thankful for the distraction.

RLRL

They had finished lunch when Logan looked at the clock. They were a short 30-minute drive from Stars Hollow and it was 12:15. Rory hadn't brought up her decision and Logan hadn't pressed, to scared of her reaction. "So, I guess we should head to my mom's house, huh?" As he sent a small smile her way he nodded his head and grabbed her hand as they headed for the car. The whole car ride she fidgeted, playing with her shirt, chewing on her fingernails, and tapping on the arm rest between them. It wasn't until she changed the song that they were listening to mid-song for the 6th time that Logan spoke up.

"I love you, I can't wait to marry you, but I am about to take away the control of the stereo if you don't stop." He said it jokingly, but the moment he saw her face he knew she didn't hear the tone of his voice, or if she did, she didn't register it as such.

"Sorry." She barely mumbled out. Hardly able to look at him. He immediately regretted the approach he had taken to this.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry, I was just kidding. Listen, I know you're nervous, but I think if you do this you'll be much happier, plus she reached out to you first. That's a good thing, right?" He sounded so hopeful and so sincere that she couldn't help but smile. She didn't have the heart to tell him that her mother could a grudge like no one she had ever met, that there could be a myriad of reasons her mother had 'reached out' but she knew that he was right. She had to do this. As she thought about this she hadn't realized that they were now sitting outside of her childhood home, when she did she looked up at Logan and smiled at him one last time before he leaned in for a kiss. "I'll be right here when you're ready to leave."

Her eyes got huge with worry, "You aren't coming in with me?"

"I would love to, but this is for you guys, not for me." She gave him one last pleading look before she kissed him and opened her side of the car, and as she was closing it she heard a faint 'I love you.'

Making her way up the steps she saw the curtain on the window flutter shut and her mom was at the door opening it up before Rory could get a grasp on the handle. They both stared at each other for a moment before Lorelei wrapped her arms around Rory in a bone crushing hug while she kept repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again.

A few minutes into the hug Rory finally asked to breathe again and Lorelei let go, it wasn't until then did she notice Logan still sitting in his car outside, once she noticed however, she quickly waved him in with her hand. Originally Logan had been nervous, but after seeing Lorelei's smile and Rory's eyes pleading with him to come inside he quickly relented.

The moment that they all sat down Lorelei immediately went into the speech she had been practicing. "First and foremost, I am sorry. I already told Rory how sorry I was, it may have been heard to hear with Rory gasping for breath, but I said it. But Logan, I owe you an apology as well. I was just caught off guard and didn't know what to expect and I was just hurt and felt lied to—" With this, Rory cut in.

"Mom, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to lie to you at all. It was just that we wanted to tell you together, he didn't mind if I told you separately but him and I are a united front now, and it felt wrong making an announcement about our future without him there."

"I completely understand. I screwed up, but I missed you kid. I'm sorry it's taken me a few days to build this up, I should've reached out that night, I should have never driven out of the parking lot like that. Although the look of horror on my mother's face was pretty fun." Lorelei added with a cheeky grin. "It's just that this year has been a mess, I've been a mess. The engagement, the ending of the engagement, even though it's not the first time, then the marriage, and then divorce. I just didn't expect you to get it right before I did. It's silly, I know it is, but I just got defensive. I hope you guys didn't have to drive all the way from New York, I didn't know where you guys were staying I could have met you half way."

Logan grabbed a quick glance at Rory who seemed relaxed for the first time in a month, between finals, the baby, the proposal, and everything else in between he could feel her relax beside him. So, he took this opportunity to drop a hint to Rory, one that would go undetected by her mother. "Actually, we were in Hartford." With this Rory shot her head up to look at him while he shot her a small smile, letting her know if she was comfortable, so was he.

Lorelei, not having a clue, "Oh, perfect! Glad I didn't intrude. So, are you guys staying there until California, and when do you guys leave?"

"Um, no, we're still at Logan's New York apartment, he was supposed to give it back after he left HPG, but he hasn't yet, so we're bunkered there. We leave for California in a few weeks."

"Then what was in Hartford this morning? Meeting with your dad?"

"Um, actually I had a doctor's appointment." Lorelei was about to ask if everything was okay until she saw Logan move to take something out of his inside breast pocket. The black squiggly lines were something she remembered vividly between the one's that first introduced her to Rory, and then from Sookie showing them off in the previous years. Once it clicked she immediately started crying, seeing this Rory started to speak up. "Mom, he didn't know when he proposed, he didn't just do it for the baby. I didn't just say yes for the baby. But mom, there is a baby, I'm due at the end of January and now I really need you to stop crying and say something please."

"I'm just, I'm overwhelmed, more than I can say, obviously as isn't that part of being overwhelmed? You know, the whole lack of speech thing. I mean I know that's part of being speechless but is it part of being overwhelmed."

"Mom, when I said I wanted you to say something, I didn't mean a diatribe on overwhelmededness."

"Now come on, that's not even a word." Then the reality really hit her, and she could only think of one thing to say. "You happy kid?"

With her head on Logan's shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her she gave one of the most genuine smiles Lorelei had ever seen. "More than I ever thought possible." Then after a few beats of silence Lorelei spoke up again.

"So, Luke's?"

RLRLRL

They all set off on foot to Luke's while Lorelei explained that her and Luke had decided to date again, quietly and slowly. No pomp, no circumstance, just two people rediscovering each other. April was set to arrive in a few weeks and Luke had offered for Lorelei to go on a few of their outings so that way they become more comfortable around each other.

"Mom, that's great."

"Yeah, well something had to give. He had to let me in a little, and Anna too." As she said this they had reached Luke's diner which boasted a sign that said 'CLOSED.' In big, bold letters. "Huh, that's strange, he hadn't mentioned anything. In fact, when I talked to him earlier I told him you might be coming here this afternoon and we might stop in."

As both Rory and Lorelei stared at the sign on the door something caught Logan's eye and he pointed them in the direction of the party that was seeming to start just behind them. It wasn't just the party goers, the music, or the huge buffet of food that got his attention. No, the biggest thing that brought the smile to his face was the banner that said 'Congratulations Rory!'

They all three stared at the party as they made their way over to it. All throughout the party were people saying congratulation to Rory. Finally, Lorelei caught Luke and brought him over to her. "How did you guys get this set up in time for tonight? I mean, we didn't even know that she would for sure be home."

"She's our girl, she deserved it. You deserve it."

"She's going to be a mom you know?" Lorelei said it with a sense of pride and also a hint of sadness. "She's going to be a mom in California and I don't know how to handle that."

"I'm sorry Lore, but she learned from the best at least?"

"So, how did this all happen?"

Sensing she needed the subject changed Luke obliged, "Well, Sookie covered most of the food, we had actually been planning on for last weekend, but she didn't come home, and you guys were fighting, so we just had the plans on hold." Once she looked up at him she realized she couldn't hold it in anymore and kissed him. Taking it slow was overrated.

Rory looked over at her mom and Luke and smiled, as she felt Logan's arms wrap around her waist and settle on top of her still toned stomach. "She's so happy, I'm glad they worked it out."

"You're happy too, aren't you?"

She turned to face him as she saw the worry cross his face. "Like you wouldn't believe. You were amazing today, with everything. Thank you so much."

"Anytime Ace. Anytime."

Within a few hours the party was over, something about it being a week night and Taylor's ordinance made the party shut down at dusk. As they said their goodbyes to Luke and Lorelei they made their way to their hotel room in Hartford. As they laid in bed that night, Rory reading her pregnancy book while Logan focused on one geared towards dads he was playing with her hair when he suddenly asked, "When else did your mom have a broken engagement?"

It took Rory a minute to come out of what she was reading, luckily she had learned some of the gritty stuff from Lane, but still, there was somethings she couldn't unread. With that being the case it was even harder for her to shift her question to what Logan had asked. "I'm sorry babe, what did you say?"

"Your mom earlier said it wasn't the first time she had a broken engagement. When was the other time?"

"Oh, yeah that was Mr. Medina." Logan's face scrunched his face.

"How old were you that he asked you to call him Mister?"

"Um, 16, but I called him that because he was my Lit teacher at Chilton."

"Well, this got more awkward instead of less. So, why didn't it work out?"

"He was her Dean, you know safe, fine, had to many chances. He was the easy choice even if they weren't in love. They even tried a few times after the failed engagement, but it was never supposed to be him."

"And Christopher? What happened there, I mean I know I've been around for this final act but when you were growing up, were they together?"

"In a way he was her Jess. Never stable, never who he needed to be or could be when she needed him and when she was willing. Then, when he finally was that guy, she didn't need him anymore. There was just no right time for them, and that's okay. They're great people, they were good together, but they're better apart."

"Now I see why you couldn't just give a yes right away. I mean, I've understood this whole time, but now I really see it. I'm sorry if you ever felt pressured by me, that wasn't my point. God, I was just so freaked Rory and I'm just sorry." He started to hang his head low until she picked him up and kissed him.

"We hashed all of this out, we're good. Just hold me Huntzberger, because I just read some things in that book that I desperately need to forget." As he started to kiss her neck she tried to stop him, "Hey, that's what got me into this situation in the first place."

"Shh, I'm just trying to make you forget Ace, and I know something that will distract you much more than me just holding you." Her protests were suddenly caught in her throat as he started kissing just below her collarbone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

They had spent two weeks getting settled into their new life in California, the first week of that was getting their new home ready, they had been to an Ikea and Rory spent more than she had ever imagined spending. He thought about telling her they didn't need half of what was in their cart, but she looked like a kid in a candy store, so he didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. He kept thinking to the night that they had saved the Yale Daily News from not coming out that night, she had that same hyper look in her eye but instead of fear, it was pure happiness.

Every new show room she found a new part of the house she had to decorate, he had to remind her 4 times in the kitchen section alone that she had fallen in love with the kitchen at their house. It wasn't until they had reached the fifth one, it had white cabinets that each had 4 panels, with a simple silver handle, two overhead industrial lights that sat over a kitchen island, and 4 built in wall ovens that he broke. "Ace, what do you need 4 ovens for?"

"Well, we don't have to get all the ovens, but I want multiple ovens."

"Once again, I raise the question, multiple ovens?" He had a slight lift in his voice, showing that he found this situation more funny than serious. It wasn't until her eyes shot downward and her voice got quiet that he realized she was serious.

"I just thought," she sighed quietly before she continued, "I just thought that this year for thanksgiving we could go back to Hartford, but for the babies first thanksgiving I'd like to be home and this kitchen feels like the perfect thanksgiving kitchen. I know it might stupid, but it just feels like home for me."

It took Logan all of about 5 seconds before he pulled her in for a kiss and when they separated he quietly said, "If this feels like home, then this is what will be in our home. Are you okay with the construction though?" He had never been happier to have uttered such a simple sentence in his life, her face lit up as she flagged down an associate to get the appointment set up to get that exact kitchen at whatever cost and whatever time line she could. It would be done within the next 3 weeks.

As they passed by the baby section she secretly snuck over to a few cribs and checked them out, all while Logan watched her out of the corner of his eye. Once she caught him looking and he smiled at her, a genuine smile that she was pretty sure matched her own.

Now that they were on their second week, Logan was getting settled at work while Rory was watching her kitchen being destroyed to make room for the new kitchen. She sat down at her computer and opened it up to make sure that her resume was up to snuff, she and Logan had talked about it and they had come to conclusion that Rory would go to work after the kitchen remodel. It was perfect, she wanted some time to get used to her surroundings, get used to the life changes, and make their new house a home. However, that didn't mean she couldn't put feelers out there, right?

As she watched the construction guys start to leave she realized she was still at her computer, and suddenly she realized she had rabbit holed herself into twilight zone conspiracy theories, how in the world had she gotten there? _I really do have to get out of this house._ With that in mind she decided to walk the 2 blocks to the coffee shop and order one cup of coffee, she also grabbed one of the half-baked cookies that they sold. Looking down at her buzzing phone she had a text from Logan. * _Grabbing dinner on my way home, you better get me a cookie too. *_ Quickly she whipped her head around to see if she could spot him anywhere, but he was nowhere in sight, she had thought he had a weird sixth sense about him until she felt 2 arms wrap protectively around her from behind. "Hey buddy, I'm an engaged woman, you can't expect me to just fall into your arms."

"Shh, I'm an engaged man, but I just saw you from across the street and I couldn't help myself. Plus, the way I see it, you're already in my arms." Logan whispered huskily in her ear, distracting her just enough to steal the cookie that was 3/4 eaten out of her hand. Just as he started to protest he had produced a brand-new cookie into the once vacant hand.

"My hero!" Rory turned around and gave him a kiss as she threw her hands around him. She looked down at the bags in hand and her eyes lit up. "Oh my god, for a man like you I will leave my fiancé, you seem like such a good provider." She couldn't help the twinkle in her eye that matched his as they made their way down the block. He informed her all about his day while she told him all about how their kitchen had been demoed. It wasn't until they turned the corner and spotted the black Lincoln Town Car sitting outside of their house. "Um," Rory took a big gulp, knowing full well who was in that car without even getting confirmation. "Is that?"

She saw Logan's face drop, along with his hand dropping her hand while he ran his fingers through his hair. "Fuck, what could he possibly want?"

Just as he said that, the car door opened up and Mitchum walked out. Even though Rory knew who it was it didn't stop the groan that escaped her lips. In a moment of relief Logan smirked at the way she couldn't even contain her disdain. The smirk would have lasted longer if Mitchum wouldn't have opened his mouth. "So, I guess congratulations are in order? At least you did the proper thing and proposed when she was knocked up, it's how your mother landed me."

"Rory, go inside now."

"No, Logan, I need to be—" But then she saw his face, a face that usually, even with dealing with his father wasn't this cold, the voice that said those words normally didn't sound that harsh. She almost flinched at the tone, but instead she simply nodded and walked inside. Even though she had respected his wishes to go inside, didn't mean she said she wouldn't crack a window and listen though, right?

She saw the two men, standing outside on their driveway, Logan still carrying the now forgotten, and now cold dinner. She heard Mitchum finally speak again, "At least you've taught her to listen now, comes in handy when they're more subservient." Rory almost threw up, whether it be from the small bouts of nausea she had been experiencing or the pure sexism of her future father-in-law's comment she didn't know. It took everything she had not to run out there and tell Mitchum just how disgusting his comments were when she heard Logan's voice, even more angry than it was a few minutes ago.

"You will never speak of her like that again. You know damn well I had that ring before that baby was ever a thought. You will not come into our house and disparage anything we have built for ourselves. Fuck you, you are a worthless piece of shit who will not get a minute more of my time. Get the hell away from my fiancé, get the hell away from my child, and I swear to god if you step foot on my property again I will have you arrested."

"Logan, I came here to have a civil conversation with you, don't act like a child."

"Dad, if I wanted to act like a child I would be screaming my head off like you and I have done more times than I can count, instead I am calmly telling you to get the hell away from me. You wanted a civil conversation? You lost that privilege the moment you came onto our property and insulted her, do you hear me?" As Logan turned to walk into the house Rory went to shut the window, quietly but as quickly as she could so he wouldn't know she had been listening. Just as Logan had reached the door, and just as the window was about to close she heard one more parting sentence.

"I came here to ask you to come back to the company Logan." And then she heard the door slam.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

She wanted to run after him, she wanted to tell him that she heard everything that had happened, and it didn't matter, they were okay. She wanted to go back to the moment she decided to leave the house and she wanted to stay at home. Being able to intercept Mitchum and making Logan's bad mood just leave. He didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve to build his life back up only to have Mitchum try to take it all away. She had wanted to do all of that but before she could follow his heavy foot steps down the hall the door that had just slammed closed was now slammed open.

"LOGAN GET OUT HERE NOW!" Mitchum bellowed while Rory hid in the kitchen. Refusing to make her presence known to either of the Huntzberger men in the house. She didn't want Logan to feel like he had to hide her away and she didn't feel like facing the wrath of a disrespected Mitchum.

Suddenly, Logan reappeared in the entry way, toe-to-toe with a red-faced Mitchum, if that morning at the Vineyard was scary this would put the fear of God into the devil himself. However, what no one expected was the pure hatred in Logan's eyes. "Dad, I explained as calmly as I could outside that you are to get away from my home, I meant every word of it. Leave the premises now."

"Like hell I will leave boy!"

"Dad, I owe you nothing, I don't work for you anymore, I'm not missing any important meetings, there is no investors for me to schmooze. I'm building a life and you have no part of it anymore. You cut me off, I'm returning the favor."

Suddenly the room was silent, there was no threats, no screaming, no eerily calm tone of Logan's voice, there was just a pointed silence that made Rory want to make sure both men were still breathing. Finally, after what felt like an hour-long silence Mitchum spoke up. "I want you back Logan. HPG needs you back." There was no anger in his voice, but he still had no traces of softness in his voice.

"I heard you the first time, my door slam still stands. I want nothing to do with that company and I will not work under your thumb. There is no wavering in this decision, I will give you one more chance to leave." If the look on Logan's face gave any indication he wasn't serious, his tone made sure to make up the difference.

His father finally turned on his heel back to the door, with one last parting shot. "This isn't over Logan, this isn't just about your pride, this is your name." And, like father, like son, the door slammed behind him. Rory flinched as Logan made his way into the living room and sunk down into a chair. "Are you going to keep hiding in the kitchen or are you going to come out here anytime soon?" She knew that he was trying to joke but his voice was to heavy, thick with the arguments he left unsaid, the yelling he had built up in his chest. Rory slowly made her way into the living room, as she headed for the couch opposite his chair he cleared his throat and gave her a questioning look until she changed her course and sat in his lap. He instinctually wrapped his arms around her as she tucked her head into his neck. "That's better." He muttered into the top of her head.

"Can I do anything for you? I can order a new dinner? Or I can go get you a water? Just, what can I do Logan?"

"Would it be terribly cheesy if I said that you're doing it?" His voice and face were so small, gone was the anger, left was the hurt.

"Not cheesy at all, please excuse the boneyness of my butt though."

"Oh, now you're just fishing for compliments." He winked at her as his voice lifted momentarily but just as quickly as it was there it was gone. "I can't go back there Rory. I can't give him the satisfaction."

"And no one, most of all me, is asking you to go back there."

"But it would make sense the most for you, we could be on the East coast, you would be at a doctor that you know and trust, I know you declined jobs out there, and then there's the big one of Lorelei." His voice had an air of guilt to it, as if she was resenting him for all of that, because he dared to start doing something he loved.

"Hey, there are plenty of great doctors out here, at least that's the rumor on the street. There are papers anywhere and everywhere. And, now here's the big shocker, there is something called a telephone that can be used to call my mom."

"Wow! They have telephones out here too?"

"Just got them in last week! Come on Logan, even with the baby, if I didn't want to be here I wouldn't be. We've done long distance before, but I'm sticking by you for this and I won't take no for an answer. You can fight me on this, but I won't back down. You want this job, you're excited about this, I don't quite understand all the jargon, but I understand the way your eyes light up when you talk about it. That means more to me than whatever HPG wants to try to give you."

He believed her, he believed that she was perfectly content with what was happening in the here and now, but what if there came a day where that just wasn't enough? What if there was a day where the ring on her finger, and the baby in her stomach weren't enough for her to put his dreams ahead of hers. The thought sat on the tip of his tongue, until finally the weight got to be to much for him. "What if one day I'm not enough? What if there aren't enough jobs out here?"

"Then I will Ikea renovate every room of this house and I'll plant a hundred more avocado trees and I'll eat more cookies than societally acceptable. Logan, stop, right now this job, this home, and this state is our reality and it is a reality I am incredibly happy with. Walking home with you felt right, I don't want that taken away right now. Not for a job, or a doctor, and not for my mom."

"Well, let me go trash the dinner and can you order Chinese?" He had conceded to what she was saying, he allowed her to convince him that they were going to be good and happy. Her face was so earnest and honest, and he wanted this to be it, he had no choice to believe her.

"Fine, but don't think I don't see that you're still upset, I'll get extra egg rolls."

"Those egg rolls are for you and you alone."

"Not me and me alone, the baby also wants them." For the first time since they saw the menacing car outside their home he smiled a real, genuine smile.

"How is the baby?"

"I've been feeling pretty sick, but it's not to bad. I can still sit and apply to jobs and oversee construction guys doing construction guy things, so it could be worse."

"Construction guy things? Really, are we sure that you're the best to oversee this project?"

"Sorry Huntzberger, I'm all you've got."

He cringed involuntarily at the cheeky way she said his name. He always loved it, but today, after that argument and his father's final words they felt like a noose around his neck. "Maybe we should change my name after we get married?"

"Hmm, Logan Gilmore, how very feminist of you." If the cringe he gave at his name was bad, this one was downright terrible.

"Nevermind, I take it back. We will just reclaim the Huntzberger name, make it our own."

"I think I like the sound of that. Now, as comfy as your lap is I need to order food."

"Yeah, and your butt is a little bony." He shot at her while she stuck her tongue out at him. Everything had been so awful and tumultuous just an hour ago but now she had breezed her way onto his lap and silenced most of his fears for a few minutes at least.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Once Logan turned off the ignition of his Porsche in the garage he could feel the house shaking from the bass. He shook his head knowing Rory was enjoying finally having a construction free house. After the kitchen took an extra few weeks Rory was going crazy. It didn't help that her name was mud in the journalism world and she desperately wanted to be working. He made his way into the house trying to find Rory, the music pulsing in his ears alerted him that screaming her name would not lead him to her. He made his way to the stereo to turn the music down. The lower the music got the more he realized he could hear her throughout the house. He followed the noise while yelling out and chuckling, "So, you finally got a quiet house and decided to make it loud again?"

He was about to ask her day was but the scene on the bathroom floor alerted him to just how exactly her day had gone, and his sentence taped off before it could even begin. "I'm guessing by the makeshift bed and the look on your face morning sickness has officially kicked in?" He kneeled down to pick her up and at least get her head off the bathroom floor. The only answer to his question was her burrowing her head into his lap and groaning. "You know, you're usually indecisive about dinner but I feel like tonight you really don't know what you want, do you?"

Another groan was emitted from Rory's throat and Logan held her closer. He thought for sure he was going to be here for a while and he really wished he would've brought his phone with him, so he could work while she rested but suddenly she finally spoke. "I need a slushie."

Logan almost guffawed at that. "I'm sorry, what?"

Rory just glared at him as he laughed at her request. "This isn't a joke Logan, I need cold and ice and I want a slushie. Do I need to run down to 7-11 myself—" but just as she said that her whole body shot off of Logan's lap and she proceeded to dry heave again. Logan rubbed her back and helped her back down onto the floor as he was getting up, no longer questioning her cravings.

"So, a slushie, got it? Anything else I can get you or do to help before I leave here?" Rory shook her head no and dropped her head back down to the ground. Somewhere off in the distance she heard the door close and his car start back up. But she wasn't fully paying attention as she fell back asleep on the blanket pillow she had created earlier when she realized she wouldn't be moving from this spot for most of the day.

Soon after she fell asleep she could feel Logan picking her up and bringing her back to their room. As he laid her on the bed she felt herself fully awaken, it was then that she saw the army of slushies he had provided. "Logan, it's to much, seriously, I just needed one."

"Well, I wasn't sure what baby was craving. We have cherry, black cherry, blue raspberry, white cherry because apparently there's many different ways you can drink a cherry, there's a watermelon, a coke, and a grape." At the grape she made a face that made Logan thought she was going to bolt. "Okay, so no more grape at all."

Rory smiled up at him from her perch on their big comfy bed. "As much as cherry sounds good, I think I would really like that Coke one. Is that okay?"

He handed it to her and as she took her first drink of it she realized that this was exactly what she had needed. She had drunk it so quickly Logan wasn't sure how she didn't get brain freeze. "Okay, I have to ask does your body not feel temperature because seriously Ace, you can drink coffee straight out of the pot practically and now this without the flinch of a headache."

"Years of eating ice cream in Connecticut weather with mom."

"Ah, that would explain it I suppose." He looked her over as she laid back on their bed, she looked so exhausted and beat down. He ran his hand down her arm as her started to come back. "I have to say, I got a little more scared than I'd like to admit when I saw you laying there on the bathroom floor and I knew it wasn't a hangover."

"Oh no, hangovers can't touch this pain. Plus, the thought of a taco makes me want to vomit all over again, so it wouldn't work to cure the morning sickness."

"I'm serious babe, how long has it been this bad? I know I've been really busy at work but Ror, how sick have you been, for real?"

"It's been getting worse, I just feel really worn out, but I'm already 14 weeks so I should be on the mend soon."

"If you aren't better soon you'll make an appointment with the doctor, right?"

"I promise. But Logan, honestly, it's common and I have an appointment in 2 weeks so I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Fine, but you rest for now, okay?"

"Aye, aye, master and commander."

"Four years later and it finally caught on!"

"Well my defenses are down, don't expect it to stick." She gave him a weak smile as he went downstairs to get himself dinner.

He had entered the office at 6:45, after he had made sure to check on a sleeping Rory one more time before he sat down at his desk. He deleted another 4 emails from Mitchum, 2 from Shira, and answered the one Honor had sent, only making sure to touch on anything that wasn't Mitchum related. After he finished catching up on those he threw himself into the work he had to focus on, he had decided to take tomorrow off just to actually be here to watch Rory. He trusted her with his life, with his heart, and with everything he had. But, she was a stubborn little nutcracker and he wouldn't put it past her to pretend like she was okay while she was slowly getting worse. He had noticed that she was tinier when he picked her up to bring her to bed. She was always skinny, but this was lacking muscle, lacking even water weight. He just wanted to give himself a three-day weekend to focus on her.

As he closed his laptop he realized that it was almost 2 A.M. which meant that he had been up for 22 hours and he was starting to feel it. He grabbed himself a glass of water and prepared one for Rory, when he set it on her side of the bed he kissed her forehead before he went over to his side and before he could roll over to cuddle her she had turned on her side, still asleep, grabbed his arm and burrowed her face into his muscles. Without a second thought Logan closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Four hours later he woke up to a sudden jerking movement of the bed and through half-lidded eyes he saw Rory bolt from the bed and heard her get sick before he heard her brush her teeth and climb back into bed. He opened his arm as she tucked herself under it and laid her head on his chest. "I just tried to drink some water." Her voice broke like she was about to cry. "Logan, I'm so tired and I feel like I can't stomach anything but popsicles or slushies and even though I'm not the pinnacle of health even I know that isn't exactly nutritious. I just want to be able to eat, and I want to be able to sleep normally, and I was already not okay with all the weird body stuff coming up, but I figured it would be okay because at least I get to get rid of the morning sickness, there was some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. And so, help me God Logan if you say, 'the baby is the light' I will lose it." Logan held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm really sorry babe. I truly had no idea, you have to stop hiding this from me." He should have known, he should have noticed the way her appetite had dropped, the way her spirit dropped, everything. "God, am I turning into Mitchum?"

"WHAT?!"

"Am I my father? I feel like I've neglected you throughout this pregnancy." Rory stared at him shocked.

"Logan, no. You're starting a new job, I wasn't telling you because I thought it wasn't a big deal. Yesterday was the day it got really bad. Speaking of work, um, shouldn't you be leaving soon?" She didn't want to let him go, he was her warm pillow.

"Actually, I decided to surprise you. Three-day weekend. I figured I would spend the weekend hanging out with you and just making sure you're doing okay."

She let out a breath she didn't want him to realize she was holding. "That sounds amazing Logan. Thank you." Just as the words left her mouth she felt her stomach lurch again and she took off towards the bathroom. He climbed out of bed and crouched down behind her.

"Why don't we go to the doctor today. Just to be sure?" Rory barely mustered up the strength to nod her head in agreement.

RLRLRL

They sat in the exam room and Logan kept going over what the vital nurse had said. "Wow Rory, down 8 pounds since a few weeks ago." Even Rory looked shocked as she realized the toll this pregnancy was taking on her. Her voice broke him out of his thoughts, "There's this severe morning sickness, I wonder if it's that?"

He nodded his head in agreement, "I think I read about that. HG right?"

Rory looked at him like he had three heads. "Where could you have possibly read about that?"

"I know that you're only with me for my good looks but really, I can read you know? You're not the only one who enjoys it. You may be the only of us that sniffs books, but I do occasionally read something other than the comics section of non-HPG papers."

"I know you can read Logan. I just figured…" She tapered off. She didn't want to tell him she thought he would have been to busy with the new job knowing that his feelings of being Mitchum were still to raw from this morning.

"Figured I'd be to busy? Fair, and correct actually. I thought about it this morning while you were taking a shower, so I looked it up."

"You read it on a website?" Rory asked with an incredibility to her tone.

"I've also heard of pregnancy brain, does this mean I have to explain websites to you too?" He had that same smirk that always made her want to lose herself into him, or, if she was working blue, him into her. She shook that thought away, that's what got her into this mess as it was.

"No you infuriating human. I just thought that since you went on that Shakespearian monologue about a book that you had read it there." He was about to respond to her just as the doctor breezed in.

"Good morning! I've looked over everything and I am not comfortable with your weight loss but I'm also not sensing a Hyperemesis gravidarum diagnosis quite yet. It may just be a bout of really bad morning sickness. I feel comfortable sending you home with strict bed rest orders for the weekend, a prescription for an anti-nausea and for the dad to make sure you have anything you can keep down in mass quantities in the house. Also, protein, peanut butter crackers are probably the easiest right now." They both nodded their heads in understanding and Logan dropped her off at the house while he went to pick up her prescription and loaded up on popsicles and peanut butter.

 **A/N: Do we want Colin and Finn, I have a few ways to incorporate them but I want to know if you guys want them?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **A/N: Guys the reviews were insane, thank you thank you thank you! Here is a thank you for that.**

Rory and Logan spent an inordinate amount of time in bed, and she had to give him credit he tried to ignore his phone and laptop for as long as he could. He would work on things as long as she was asleep but by Saturday she needed him out of bed and working.

"Hey Logan." Rory did the sweetest voice she could possibly muster.

Logan sprang into action, "What do you need Ace, another dose of medicine, another water, oh I can go down to 7-11 and get another slushie, or I have more popsicles, when's the last time you ate." She tried to hide the exasperation that took over her face, but he saw it. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Right as he said it, his phone rang, and the look of exasperation turned into a full eye roll. As Logan made his way to silence it again he started apologizing before Rory cut him off, scared of the full-blown rant he was about to start on again.

"Logan, I love you, you have been amazing, you have taken care of me and the baby and neither one of us could be more thankful. But honey, I need you out of this bed." Logan looked at her like she was crazy.

"No!"

"Lo—"

"No! I promised I would take care of you, I promised I'd make sure that I was with you and the baby and that I would make sure you were taken care of."

"I know, I know, and you have. But think about it, have I thrown up since I started taking my medicine and eating smaller meals?" Logan went to interrupt, "Ah, ah, ah. Logan I am okay. I am already feeling much better. I think you should go to the office, answer some calls and emails, leave me to my Lifetime Movie Network."

"Ace, I really don't think—"

"Logan, if you don't get out of this bed I will jump you. Plain and simple I will jump your bones, I miss you touching me, I miss you kissing me, and the vibrations of your phone."

"I feel like you were joking with that last one, but damn, I can't say I don't feel the same way." Logan's voice got huskier as he closed the gap between them and kissed her harder than he felt was appropriate for the situation they were in. The moan she let escape alerted him to the very real situation they were in and he backed off of her, mumbling something about a cold shower and then going to the office. Rory smiled in victory as she settled back into the pillows and turned on terrible television.

LRLR

Sunday morning Rory woke up to a smell that just last week would have made her run for the bathroom but after the past few days she finally felt up to the challenge of drinking the small bit of coffee that Logan allowed and eating the muffins she knew he brought. The moment she passed the office Logan was out of the chair immediately. "Hey there! I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

"I have to get out of bed sometimes."

"Hmm, but I love you back in bed." His hand grazed her lower _lower_ back, making Rory feel like she was on fire.

"Logan," her voice tried to be a warning, but it came out lower and huskier than she had ever heard herself sound. "Logan, you told me we couldn't, that you wanted to be safe and careful."

"How are you feeling?" He made sure his voice remained even, not letting the seduction take over, he wanted to make sure that she was feeling okay before he gave in.

"I've never felt better." She barely got it out before Logan had grabbed her hand and led her back to the bedroom. Even with his hand holding hers she could barely keep up with the pace he had set. The moment that they were back on the bed that she had spent so much time in for the past 2 days, she had completely forgotten all about the muffins and now cold coffee.

LRLRLR

"God, I missed you."

"Stop talking to the muffins." Logan couldn't help but smile at her, she looked so happy, the first time he had seen her this happy since that day in Ikea, and he did have to admit the kitchen looked great.

"But I did, they're so light and full of flavor. I just missed normal food."

"And you're really feeling okay? Like it seems that the food is staying down?"

"I feel great Logan, I promise, everything about today has been great. Thank you, you really have made this weekend great. I feel so much better, and hey, don't I look better?" She winked at him, hoping to lighten the mood.

"You look great, and I believe I showed you just great I think you look."

"Multiple times." She said with a smirk that he had taught her after years of his own overuse. She wrapped her arms around him as she snuggled into his chest. "I think we needed this weekend, I've missed you so much Logan. I'm so proud of how much you've done for us as a family, and on your own. But I'm very thankful for all that you've done for us, I'm just glad we all slowed down for a bit. I mean, I guess without me working I haven't been doing much." Logan listened to her voice taper off, to the hurt tone that seeped out when she talked about working. He was wondering when this was going to rear its ugly head.

"Hey, your body hasn't exactly been stress-free, if I'm being honest I'm glad you haven't gotten a job yet with how you've been feeling the last thing you need is the stress of a new job. I do have a thought, but I haven't wanted to bring it up until I knew for sure. I still don't but I think Mitchum may be behind you being persona non grata in the newspaper world."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." She didn't sound surprised, not even mad, just frustrated overall. "I've thought about that, but I didn't want to bring his name up in a disparaging way and hurt your feelings."

"Hey, I can disparage that man with the best of them, but I get why. I vote that you focus on feeling better, and once you get to a more stable place with this pregnancy then we can focus on a job. In the mean time I'll work on finding out if my father is behind it and if so, what I can do."

"That sounds amazing, thank you Logan."

"Now, I know that is just past lunch time, but do you have any particular ideas for dinner because while you've been down for the count I've eaten cereal for every meal."

"Why?!"

"Because, I wasn't going to eat without you, it's one of our things together, I hate it when we can't just sit and enjoy a meal together." He hadn't planned on admitting that, but it was true. They had brought out different palates in each other, she brought out his love of terribly greasy, overly sweet, bad for you food. He brought out her fancy, too expensive side. And somehow, it felt like every night they had a little bit of both, usually ending up with ice cream on the couch and then whipped cream in the bedroom. _Really, it's a miracle she didn't get pregnant sooner, the whole year in London may have had something to do with the delay._ He chuckled to himself and she gave him a small sideways glance, first at the initial sentence, and then at the small laugh.

"That might be one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me. What if I said I only wanted cereal and it's the only thing that would make me happy?"

"Then I'd grab two bowls, all 4 boxes we have left, some milk and spoons and we'd go to town." He kissed her to punctuate the sentence.

"Well that's good to know, but I want steak. Plus, it's protein, right? Which is exactly what the doctor said." She stood up and they went to go get dressed, getting ready to go out and get ingredients for tonight's dinner and to have more food options in the house.

RLRLRLRL

The next morning Rory woke up to another amazing smell she hadn't realized she missed so much. Bacon, the smell wafted throughout the house and as Rory threw on a ratty shirt she had stolen from Logan years ago, she watched as it actually fit around the bump of her stomach, it wasn't much but it was there, and after losing weight initially it felt good to see. She ran her hands over the bump and smiled as widely as she could. She could have admired that for a few extra minutes until the smell of bacon hit her again. She made her way down the hallway and into the kitchen when she turned the corner and screamed.

"FINN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOUR PANTS?!"

"Well good morning love and love junior, I could ask you the same thing." With that Rory quickly looked down and noticed that she had indeed forgotten to put on pants.

"I mean, this is my house I don't have to wear pants if I don't want to."

"I'd highly discourage it." Colin came into the room eating a strip of bacon. _Where did he come from?_ Rory was amazed at the way these two had hidden. She grabbed the bacon out of his hands and began to bite into it. "Hey! I was eating that!"

"The baby decided they wanted it, ha, I win. Give me more bacon." Rory grabbed her phone as Finn loaded a plate full of bacon and pancakes that he had already made. She heard Logan pick up and before he could even say hello Rory was already talking. "Call off your guard dogs."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gilmore has exceptional legs, even pregnant, it's like there's a small bump but everything else still looks, damn." Finn exclaimed behind Rory as he stole another piece of bacon from Colin who promptly screamed a 'Hey!' in protest.

"Oh, dear god, they're there?!"

"You didn't call them?" Now she was really confused, she would have sworn Logan had called them to watch her because he was very anxious about her being by herself last night.

"No, I would have told you. Also, why is he talking about your legs?"

"Oh, I'm not wearing pants."

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!"

"Well, I thought it was you making me bacon and so I grabbed a t-shirt and just walked out." She explained it like it was the most common thing in the world.

"Okay, I can understand that, but you're still pantless?" He couldn't hide the humor in his voice as he hadn't expected to have to ask this question this morning. "Please tell me Robert isn't there?"

"Nope! Just Lucy and Ethel."

"I pick Lucy!"

"Not even fair Finn, you didn't give me a chance."

"Well, we know she was into exotic men!"

"Yes, but I'm not saying you guys get to sleep with, I said which one you get to be."

"Well this game isn't fun anymore."

"Ace, hi, remember me, fiancé, father of your child, worried that you're still pantless?"

"Oh god, keep your pants on, I'm going to go throw on some sweats."

Logan heard a chorus of 'nos' come from two of the stooges in the background. "Listen, I'll be home around 5. Can you keep them entertained until then?"

Rory looked at the clock which read 10 a.m. "Yeah, it should take me that long to convince Finn to put his clothes back on."

"WAIT WHAT?!"

"Bye honey, I love you!"

As she walked into the kitchen she turned to the two of them, each with a guilty look on their face. "Guys, what did you do? I need to know how mad Logan is going to be."

"We didn't do anything, but I'm sure if anyone can cheer him up, it will be you." Finn winked at her while Colin elbowed him.

"Okay, then what's with the long faces."

"Mitchum sent us, we swear Rory, we're not here to convince him to come back to HPG, it's just Mitchum has a lot of dirt on us and threatened with some very interesting punishments if we didn't at least come out here and 'talk' to him. I think he's hoping we can convince him to come back. But honestly, we just missed you guys."

Rory ran her hand across her face. "Guys, you can tell him, he'll understand, but we're happy here. That's not going away."

"We know! That's why we bought the house across the street!" Finn beamed with pride while Rory groaned.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Logan walked into their home at half past 5, he had stopped to get Rory another slushie just to be sure, but then he got stuck in traffic. The guilt of having her have to put up with the boy's behavior longer than he anticipated was at the forefront of his mind as he walked in to a very quiet house. As he set his keys on the key ring and his laptop bag in the kitchen he looked into the living room to see a very quiet Finn and Colin. "Good evening men." He spoke in a normal tone, not feeling there was a reason to do any differently until they both shushed him quickly. It was then that he looked down and saw a sleeping Rory on their couch. _Well, at least they were quiet for her._

As they all three made their way into the kitchen Logan got out 3 scotch glasses and filled them all up. They all went to take a drink when Logan finally decided to break the silence and have a little bit of fun. "So, which one of you checked out my fiancé's legs?" He had expected both of them to look flustered or embarrassed, a part of him was hoping for a moment of spit-take theater or a choked-out apology. Instead they both just shrugged their shoulders.

"Wouldn't be the first time we've checked her out." Logan stared at Colin amazed that he would be the one to say that and not Finn.

"'Tis true mate. Don't get me wrong, we'd never act on it, actually we checked her out before you ever did at the coffee cart!"

"Still, I'd prefer that if she's not wearing pants you don't stare." Colin and Finn shared a guilty smile before they stared back into the glasses. "What, what could that look possibly mean?"

"It means that you were a moron who gave them keys to our apartment and your dorm and there had been many times I'm sure that they had walked in when we were asleep and not exactly decent." A very tired Rory came and wrapped her arms around Logan who extended her new drink of choice out to her. She mumbled a thank you into his chest.

"Oh yeah, there was plenty of those times. I was more thinking of when you were in London and we went to go check on her and she was in the shower." Three heads all whipped around to stare at Finn.

"WHAT?!" Logan and Rory had the same reaction while Colin screamed, "We weren't supposed to tell them that!" Suddenly the focus was back on Colin now.

"Okay, now that you two own the house across the street, neither one of you is trusted with a key. Do you hear me?" Rory then looked at Logan who was turning a new shade of red that she hadn't seen. "No keys for them, got it?"

"Oh, don't worry, I've got it." Logan's voice was angry, but the more he thought about the situation the more he was thankful it was the two of them. Unfortunately, they didn't hear the humor in his voice, so Colin and Finn swallowed the lumps in their throat and Colin started to work on damage control.

"I swear Rory, we didn't see anything much and we left very quickly after, I swear." Colin quickly stammered out.

"Wait, you guys are moving across the street?" Logan finally registered what Rory had said earlier. There had been a lot of developments for a Monday evening. "I feel like I'm missing a lot of information."

"That's because you're a work dork." Rory settled her back against his front while he wrapped his arms around her front cradling the bump she had been admiring not to long ago. "How about you guys go out, have a night out on the town, turn on your red lights, whatever." Logan opened his mouth to protest while Finn and Colin had their mouths open in anticipation. "I'm serious, I've been babysat for 72 hours, I need space and now that these two will be within a hundred feet of me at any given time I really need the space. So, go, get changed, get all gussied up and leave me be."

"Damn, she's hot when she's bossy, remember when she bossed around for that London party?"

"Not the time Finn." Both Logan and Colin gave him a look. Colin kept up though, "She does have a point, plus buddy, we have some business to discuss with you." Logan groaned, but a part of him was thankful for the evening out.

As he stepped out of his closet he saw Rory waiting for him in their room. "Well you look handsome." She was smiling, she was happy, and he actually felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

"Well thank you, you look good too. A little grungy but good." Rory stuck her tongue out at him and he smiled, gave her a kiss and walked out to join Colin and Finn for their evening out. As soon as she heard the door close she quickly made her way to the window. She waited until she saw his tail lights turn the corner off their street before she jumped in the shower, making it quick she wasted no time and grabbed her keys and got in her own car. Thanking god he actually left for the evening.

RLRLRLRL

"What made my two best friends grace me with their presence?" If the look they shared earlier about Rory was one of guilt, there was no word to describe the lack of eye contact they were exhibiting now. "Wow, didn't know that was such a loaded question."

"It's not, it's just, well, Mitchum."

"What about him?"

"He 'gently persuaded' us to come out here. Convince you to leave California, and to leave—"

"FINN!"

"What?!"

"We weren't going to mention that part."

"What part?" Logan tried to interject, to no avail.

"No, we said we weren't going to mention it to Rory because of the baby. But we never agreed not to mention it to Logan."

"Mention what guys?"

"Why would we mention it to Logan? It's not an option, it's not going to happen."

"Guys!" Still no luck on Logan's part.

"Because he deserves to know."

"Really, you want to be the one that tells him that his father wants him to leave Rory?" Colin finally let out with exasperation before he turned to look at Logan who radiated more anger than either of them had seen, even including the earlier secrets that were revealed.

"He what?"

Colin sighed and dropped his head in his hands, he was about to speak up when Finn decided to dump out the can of worms he had opened. "Mitchum, he wanted us to convince you to leave Rory, to show you what all is out there and what you may be missing."

"He wanted me to abandon Rory, and the baby?"

There were no words spoken for quite some time, but 2 more rounds were ordered before Logan finally spoke up again. "Why did you come here to do his bidding? Is it to break Rory and I up? Because if so, get the hell out of this booth and cancel the purchase of that house because I don't want you anywhere near her."

"No, Logan, that's not it. He just threatened to press charges on some legal things that you had taken the blame for, but we told him we'd come out here. We made no promises. We're here for the both of you. And we know Finn can't hold down a job, so he can watch Rory if need be, no, we're here to support you guys. We just honestly used this an excuse to get out here and the fact that it was on Mitchum's dime made it better."

Logan had no choice but to believe them. They hadn't done much wrong, they had gotten into bed with the devil himself but were smart enough to keep their chastity belts on so not too much damage could be done. "If I hear that you guys promised him anything, I swear."

"Nothing else mate, I swear."

Logan sighed and cracked his neck from side-to-side, "So, may I ask why you didn't have pants on in my house this morning?" And just like that, the tension at the table had been lifted.

RLRLRLRL

Logan set the boys up in the two guest rooms they had in their house. Apparently, the boys had to stay there for a few weeks before they closed on the house. Quite frankly Logan had stopped paying attention long before they had given an explanation. It wasn't until he crawled into bed and went to snuggle in closer to Rory that he looked around and felt something was different.

"Hey, Ror?"

She barely opened her eyes and looked at him. "Yeah babe?"

"Do we have a whole new bedroom set?"

"Oh yeah, I went to Ikea after you guys left."

"We've been gone for 6 hours, how did this all happen?"

"It's the hair twirl, now shh, go to bed."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Logan threw his keys into the bowl sitting by the door as he made his way into the house. "Ror? Rory, where are you?" He made his way through his house he waited to hear from her. He made his way past the kitchen, and when he approached the living room he saw Finn and Colin sitting on the couch. _Are those new pillows?_ He shook the thought out of his head as he cleared his throat to get the boy's attention.

"Hey Logan, what's up man?"

"Um, has anyone seen Rory? I haven't heard much from her all day." He hadn't been to worried, she seemed busy with the boys and he knew she had been applying to jobs lately since she had been feeling better, but it was weird coming home to a quiet house.

"I don't know, she left a few hours ago I think?"

"Guys, you didn't ask her where she was going or offer to go with her? She's been making sure you guys were taken care of and you couldn't see if she needed something? You couldn't have checked in with me or her? I mean guys, why would you leave her alone?" He didn't know why he was getting mad, he didn't know why he felt like strangling Colin and Finn, but he had such a long day at work and now his pregnant fiancée was gone.

"Oh, calm down Logan, I don't need a damn babysitter." Her tone was angry as she breezed past him to go to their bedroom. Colin and Finn gave her each other one look before they were out the front door. They had seen Rory mad and this was Rory mad. Logan groaned and followed her down the hall.

"Ace, you look nice." She did, she was dressed in a power suit. "What did you do today all dressed up like that?" His tone had a forced lightness, not wanting to poke a bear he didn't realize he had awoken.

"I was out." Her tone was curt, and suddenly Logan was terrified he had missed something, they had a doctor's appointment this Friday, he knew because they had finally decided to find out what the baby was, it had been such a battle and she had tried to convince him with buttons from Stars Hollow but he really wanted to know.

"Rory, what's wrong?"

"Why don't you trust me?"

"WHAT?" That question came out of nowhere.

"You immediately ask Colin and Finn where I was, is that why they're here? To babysit me? Making sure you come home to me barefoot and pregnant and doing your bidding?"

Logan almost choked on her words and on the laugh that threatened to escape his lips. "I'm sorry, again I ask what?"

"It's not funny Logan! You come in and immediately look for me like I'm some prisoner, this isn't Shawshank Logan, I'm allowed to leave my own home."

"I truly don't know where this is coming from, of course you're allowed to leave. I just wanted to see you when I got home. Forgive me for committing this mortal sin in our house of wanting to see you." He was past the point of being amused, he was now just getting annoyed.

"I will not be what I was when I quit Yale!"

"Once again, I'd prefer you not become that again Rory, I just don't know where this came from! I came home, excited to see you and to talk about our plan for the doctor's tomorrow and if I could come pick you up early and take you to lunch and now I'm getting jumped for something I didn't know I did wrong." He had been confused many times in their relationship, some leading to more disastrous results, but this was a new level of confusion.

"You know what Logan, I had good news today but no you ruined it!" She wouldn't answer any of the concerns he had, she just kept snapping. How dare he just assume she would be home, how dare he make Colin and Finn report on her whereabouts.

"How did I ruin it?! Can you let me in a little bit here? I wanted to know where you were!" Then something from earlier in their conversation combined with the last thing she said. "Wait, really, where were you?" His voice had gone quieter now, dropping the argumentative tone of his voice. He'd confront her hostile attitude later, now he was just intrigued.

"No. I'm not telling you."

"Ace, come on. I'm really sorry I was truly just missing you, it wasn't that I thought you needed a babysitter, I just got a little panicky when I realized that I didn't know where you were and the two freeloaders who you take care of so much couldn't bother to make sure you were okay. I overreacted I admit, but I really want to hear your good news." Rory looked angry still, but after a few more beats of silence she plopped down on the bed and relented.

"I met with Hugo today. He had contacted me about a job for him. Now, for a few reasons it wouldn't work out for us, which was a huge bummer, but he still wanted to meet." Her angry disposition had now disappeared, and she had a small smile on her face. "He told me that he was advised not to hire me, but his publication is just his and he saw no reason to not hire me based on my past performance. Anyway, he wants me to write for him." Her small smile had turned into a full-blown beam by the end. Logan couldn't help himself as he picked her up and spun her around.

"That's amazing! But, isn't he based out of New York?"

"Yeah, I'll be submitting some stuff to him from home. It's not a ton of money, but it's something and it's what I want to do, and it will work with our schedule and with the baby."

"What was the job offer you had to turn down?" He had been scared to ask, he didn't want to remind her of what she had given up.

"Oh, it was to follow the Obama campaign on the road." She said it so nonchalantly, but Logan still felt terrible that she had to turn it down.

"Is that why you were upset when you thought I was expecting you at home? Because you had to give up this opportunity?"

Rory sighed, she really didn't want to get into the complete irrationality that she had just displayed, but she knew she owed him some sort of explanation. "No, at least not all of it. I've just been stressed with them here, and I feel bad saying that because they're your friends and I love them. I just felt like not only can I not escape them in our own home but now if I have to leave they have to track me? The Hugo meeting was only about an hour, but I spent a good amount of the time I was gone just lazing my way around Palo Alto because I needed to be by myself. Then I was so excited to see you were home tonight and to tell you my news and then you were getting all caveman about me not being under your thumb. It was just making me mad. I've been hating the fact that the only thing I can tell you about my day is that I stopped Finn from being naked, or who the father was on Maury and it scared me that you might only want me to become that. Especially since it didn't seem like you had done anymore digging into the Mitchum thing with my career. I got scared that you wanted a _Huntzberger_ wife and then I got scared to share my news."

"Ror, I don't want you to become a wife like that, I wanted you to get a job, but I also didn't want to push you. I also hadn't heard much about the Mitchum maniacal meddling, so I hadn't thought to say anything."

"Alliteration? Really?"

"Hey, it's not my finest but it's the first time I've made you smile since you got home." He sat next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her from the side, with one hand placed on her stomach. "I'm so glad you got a job, I think you'll do well with it and I think it will be good for you. Colin and Finn are moving out Saturday, I'm sorry their stay got pushed back but they are leaving. Thank god. I've missed having a completely empty house."

Rory wanted their serious conversation to be over, she just wanted to celebrate with Logan and focus on how her day had been good up until the last 20 minutes. She decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Oh yeah Huntzberger? What's so good about an empty house?" Her voice was more playful but huskier.

"I miss you being able to walk around in my shirt and nothing else. But this skirt is doing wonders for you too." He started unbuttoning it as he kissed her neck.

"Where are they?" She barely whispered, almost unable to concentrate.

"The bar, we've got hours." He brought his lips to her ear as he said it and she brought her face to match him and kissed him as he led her down to the bed.

RLRLRL

"So, tomorrow is the doctor's appointment? Can we do lunch beforehand?"

"I'm not sure, can I convince you to wait to find out what the baby is?"

"I thought we had agreed to find out! Come on, we can start decorating the nursery this weekend and everything. Don't you want to find out?" His voice was so happy and so earnest. For the life of her Rory couldn't figure out why it was so important, but it was. She had planned on sticking to her guns and duking it out at least once more, but she was about to cave before he spoke again in a much sadder tone. "I guess, if you really don't want to know, we can wait. I mean, you're doing the hard work, I guess I can wait."

She went over to him and sat on the island in front of him. "You really want to know?"

"I really, really want to know. But I'll respect your decision."

She looked at him and was quiet, the longer the silence the more defeated his face looked. "Alright, alright fine. We can find out." The smile on his face was worth every reservation she had about finding out.

RLRLRLRL

As she sat at the doctor's office in stirrups that were more uncomfortable the further along she got in this pregnancy the more antsy she was getting. She looked over at Logan who seemed completely enthralled in his Blackberry.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you Logan?"

"Meh, it's not like I haven't seen this position before." He offhandedly said, while a smirk splayed itself across his lips. It took every ounce of self-control he had to focus on the email he was reading but he could see the shocked expression on her face.

"LOGAN HUNTZBERGER YOU DID NOT!"

"Oh, come on it was a joke. I'm sorry, there was a disagreement about money at the office, apparently, we're not throwing enough into the development of the website. I just had to give them my input since I'm you know, kind of important. But, you have my full attention now." Just as he said this, the door opened. "Right on time!"

As the ultrasound tech prepared everything Logan grabbed Rory's hand and went to stroke her hair with the other. Seconds later he heard the distinct sound of their baby's heartbeat and at the same moment he heard their sharp intake of breath as the sound hit both of them. As the measurements were taken and everything was proven to be right on track, the question was posed.

"So, would we like to know what we're having?"

"Yes." They both answered.

As they both watched the screen, the ultrasound technician typed on the screen. "I'm a Girl."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

A girl, a little girl, a little girl who could look just like Rory, but with Logan's wild side. A girl. The look of sheer panic that spread across Logan's face was only matched by the look of pure of joy on Rory's face. The tears in both of their eyes were for the same, but also different reasons. They were both beyond happy, but there was an undercurrent of nervousness for both. Logan was terrified, he could do bail money for an over privileged son, he wasn't sure he could handle the emotional task of raising a girl. On the flip side, Rory was freaking out about the thought of another little girl who would feel the pressures of being a "Lorelei Gilmore." Rory had spent her whole life trying to make sure she did everything her namesake didn't do right, what if her little girl felt that same pressure? She looked to Logan for any kind of solace, just as he looked to her for some kind of lighthouse to show a safe harbor. _Oh god, safe harbor, yacht, felonies, Maxwell Smart and 99 having a boat stealing baby coming into this world, good god I am so screwed._ They both stared silently at each other until they realized it was time to go. The car ride back to their home was silent as they both thought about the picture that was sitting in Rory's lap. Every few moments one of them would get a small glimpse of happiness at the future and a small smile would be shown before the worry lines set in again. As they walked into the door their silence was broken by the sounds of Finn and Colin in the kitchen.

"I bet the cake has to be blue." Colin was standing there holding the blue dye above the cake batter.

"Nah, you know our buddy wouldn't produce an heir on the first try." Logan cocked an eyebrow at Finn's comment, thankful for even the smallest bit of comic relief to the very exciting afternoon they had just had.

"Whatever, I'm making the cake blue." Just as Finn was about to tackle Colin to the ground Rory cleared her throat.

"Hey Flora, Merryweather, we can tell you blue or pink right now if you'd like." She held the ultrasound up in the air while both boys attempted to lunge for it before Logan stopped them. "Um, guys? Maybe don't attack the woman carrying the baby. Just a thought."

"Sorry mate, but come on, let me see it!" Rory handed it to Finn as both boys read the words to themselves.

"HA!" Finn screamed, making all of them jump. "I told you he couldn't produce an heir on the first time. Especially one out of wedlock." Logan watched as Rory's eyes got slightly darker and Colin elbowed Finn in the side. "Ow, bloody hell mate. What the hell was that for?"

"I'm going to go lay down, it's been a long afternoon and I still want to get my first article done for Hugo." Rory excused herself and walked away with a polite smile on her face that dropped the moment she was away from them.

Logan turned to Finn and gave him a look that told Finn to shut up and stay put as he went after Rory. On his way down the hall he heard Finn and Colin talking. "Mate, what the hell?"

"Finn, wedlock, really?"

"Oh, shit. Think love will forgive me?" Logan shook his head as he turned the corner and opened the door to the master bedroom. Sure enough Rory was laying curled up under the covers holding the ultrasound photo in her hand.

"Hey you." Logan walked around to her side of the bed and crouched down to be eye level with her. "I'm sorry for Finn, he doesn't think, ever quite frankly."

"No Logan, he's fine. A moron, but fine. It's just I'm worried. I don't want her to live with the pressure of trying to be another 'Lorelei Gilmore.'" She was going to continue until she was interrupted by Logan.

"Wait, Gilmore? I just thought, I mean, are we not all going to have the same last name?" This was bugging him, way more than he expected it to but there was no way his child wouldn't at least have his name somewhere, right?

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I just meant in theory, no, she will definitely be a Huntzberger. I just worry about her feeling like she has to do things to make up for mistakes I've made in life. I just worry about the pressures I know I felt as Lorelei's daughter and then her mini-me. It probably sounds ridiculous."

"No, it doesn't. Not at all. Do you not want her to be named Lorelei?" Logan had assumed that was just what was going to happen if they had a girl, she would be Lorelei and there wouldn't be much of a discussion.

"I'm not sure honestly." The way she said it sounded like a weight had been lifted, like it had been a secret she didn't know she was holding.

"Well, we still have some time before we decide. Now, I know it may be bad form, but I was supposed to go out with the guys tonight, as like a final farewell since they're moving out tomorrow."

"They're moving across the street, literally we have to get new curtains because they could try to see in." Rory's tone was flat but her eyes twinkled as she said it.

"You're right, it's dumb."

"No, it's fine. I really do have that article and you need to go out, let loose. It is Friday after all, you need the break."

"You sure?" He wanted to go out, process today, but he would stay behind.

"Please mom, let him out to play just this once." Finn's voice was heard through the door as Rory rolled her eyes and walked over to open the door.

"Just this once? Let's see, Europe, Costa Rica, and Vegas aren't ringing any bells on when you guys got him?" Colin and Logan could see and hear the humor behind her words but Finn was still feeling bad about his previous statements.

"You're right love, I'm sorry. You just get Logan all the time, we just want one last night." Finn's voice was becoming whinier.

"Fine, fine, take him. I'm sick of looking at all of you anyhow." She winked at Logan as he kissed the top of her head. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Are you really sick of looking at me?"

"At least you with clothes on." With another wink she left the boys to get ready and she went to work on her article in the office.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **A/N: One, I'm very sorry about the length of last chapter, it just felt like it had been so long since I had updated and I wanted to get one in. Also, I've been thinking about AYITL and I can think is that if they revive it, what if they make Logan a bad dad and then I got sad.**

"A girl huh?" Finn said as he lifted his glass in a toast, followed by the other two. A huge smile broke out across Logan's face, along with a distinct worry line across his forehead. They had been at the bar for the past hour and they had exhausted almost all topics.

"Guys, why am I this nervous? I was the one that wanted to find out, I pushed her, but now that I know, a girl? How do I handle a girl?"

"Hey, just think, she could always be like Gilmore and be a good student, study, not have a boyfriend until she's 16. It could be much worse." Colin was trying to hold back the laughter, but he was also trying to calm his buddy down.

"Or, she can be like Ace and steal boats, drop out of school, enter a no-strings relationship, have a felon party." As Finn spoke Logan groaned and shot him a glare for calling her Ace. "Or, she can be like Logan and—"

"Don't finish that thought Finn, I've already had it." Logan threw his head into hands as Colin ordered another round.

"Hey, for now, you're having a baby, she's not going to steal yachts for at least 14 years if she's like you. You have time to just enjoy it. Plus, work is going well, Rory is not only doing better but she seems happy to be working again. Things could be going well." Once again, Colin spoke some modicum of truth and surprisingly it seemed to help until Logan's phone lit up with one message.

RLRLRLRLR

Rory was focusing in on her article, giving her opinions on the candidates that were running, she couldn't do the political tour but it didn't mean she didn't pay attention to what was going on. She was so focused she didn't even register her phone was ringing until it almost went to voicemail.

"AH! Hello, did I pick it up in time?"

"Hey sweets! That's how you answer the phone after not calling me about your doctor's appointment? Is everything okay? Give me updates!"

"Everything looks great, she is measuring right on track. We are going shopping for her nursery on Sunday."

"She?! It's a girl? Oh my god, another Lorelei Gilmore, oh now to think of middle names."

"Um actually, it will be a Huntzberger, and I'm not set on the Lorelei name." She cringed as she said it, not wanting to hear the wrath that would come with this revelation. She had planned on not saying anything, at least not over the phone.

"But, why? I mean I get the Huntzberger, but why not carry the tradition? What did Logan say to make you change your mind?"

"I'm sorry, _what did Logan say?_ Mom are you serious? Logan was just as surprised as you are. Don't blame him."

"Well, I'm sorry kid but you're a whole country away, and now you're rethinking plans and."

Rory had to cut her off right there. "What plans? Mom I wasn't aware of these plans, maybe I just want to name my baby whatever I want. Good lord mom, can we not have this conversation over the phone? I think we're planning on coming out there soon, can we just want until then, please?"

"Fine, you still have time to think about it anyways. I'll just talk to you later?"

"Sure mom, bye."

As Rory hung up the phone she cradled her head in her hands. _Of course, she made a comment about it, of course it was Logan's fault._ Rory made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and started to cut up an apple with peanut butter. She absentmindedly cut her finger a bit and made her way to the hall closet to get a Band-Aid after rinsing her finger off. As she made her way back to the office with her snack she heard the doorbell ring.

Mitchum stood on her doorstep with his hand in his pockets and with a slight tilt to his body, just like his son. _God, sometimes they are to much alike._ "What do you need Mitchum?"

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in?" Rory wanted to stand her ground, she wanted to stand up to this man who she has stood up to before but there was no fight left today. With that thought she stepped to the side to let him in. "Is Logan around?"

"No, he's out this evening."

"Well at least you know to ignore when the Huntzberger men step out." Mitchum had come to play hard ball, he wanted Logan back, he wanted Rory and the baby gone.

"Do you honestly think the way to get Logan back into the fold is by undermining me? By trying to make sure I don't have a job, or by trying to take him away from his family? You cannot be that daft Mitchum. I don't control Logan, neither do you. Maybe, if you tried to talk to him about it instead of threats and ultimatums and asking him to be an absentee father, maybe he'd listen."

"Why would I be trying to make sure you don't have a job?" That piece of information stuck out to Mitchum and Rory looked at him like he had three heads.

"I've been told that people were warned against hiring me, I assumed that was your doing."

"I'd prefer if you had a job, then you could support you and that bastard by yourself. As for getting Logan back, he will come back to HPG one day."

"If he does, that will be his choice, not mine, not Honor's or Colin's or Finn's or any other flying monkeys you send over here. It will be his idea. And I, and our daughter will be there making sure that he's happy with his decision. Now, you can leave our house Mitchum. I believe our conversation is over." Rory walked to the front door and opened it, letting know that she meant every word of his dismissal. Once she closed the door before he barely made it out of the door frame she slid down to the floor with her head resting on the back of the door.

On the other side of the door Mitchum was climbing into his car while he sent a message. _"That fiancée sure has some fight in her."_

RLRLRLR

Colin looked over Logan's shoulder once he saw Logan go pale after reading the message. "Fuck come on. Let's go check on her."

"No, you guys stay out. In fact, can you guys find a hotel tonight? I just don't want another thing of stress on her." He looked directly at Finn as he said stress. Colin just nodded his head and left Logan to call a cab.

As he walked tried to the open the front door he was stopped by something blocking the door. _She probably moved a dresser and blocked the door so Mitchum wouldn't come in._ It wasn't until he walked in through the garage and saw her laying down on the floor asleep that he realized it was her. He ran his fingers through her hair as he tried to wake her up. Finally, after a few moments she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings before finally landing on him.

"Logan, what are you doing back, did you have a good time? Where are the boys?" He could hear the exhaustion and the tears in her voice, but she was trying to stamp it all down for him.

"They're getting a hotel tonight, I just wanted to come back and be with my girls."

"No, Logan, that's crazy. Go, be out with them, have fun, enjoy your 'last night.'" At the end came a voice break, threatening what she was trying to avoid.

"Ror, what happened tonight?"

"Nothing! Small argument with my mom, cut my finger a bit, you know typical things."

"Okay, we're going to get to the argument with your mom and the cut later, but why don't you explain why my dad is saying you have some fight in you and why I woke you up on the floor of our foyer?" Logan had been confused by the cut, and now really worried about the fight with Lorelei, but he knew he had to get to the reason he had almost paid the cab driver triple just to get home quicker. _God, if she fought with Mitchum and Lorelei she really did have a rough night._ "Come on, let's go to bed and we can talk about it."

Once they were in bed Rory laid everything out. Letting Logan know all about the visit with Lorelei, to the horrid visit with Mitchum. "Logan, I really don't think he has to do with me not being able to get a job. If it weren't for Hugo telling me that he was specifically warned against hiring me I would think it was my skills. But, I don't know. He wants me to be able to support 'the bastard' by myself." They both cringed as Mitchum's words were repeated. When Logan had first heard this tidbit, Rory was scared he was going to take off to find him, and she had to spend 15 minutes calming him down enough to finish her story. "Why would he sabotage any kind of job prospect if that was his end goal?"

Logan hated to admit that she had a point, but it was true. If Mitchum wanted her to leave Logan, he wouldn't stand in her way. He was thinking about this and thinking of other possible suspects when Rory's voice broke into his thoughts.

"Why aren't we married yet Logan?"

"What?"

"I mean, why aren't we married yet? Why is this baby being called all kinds of names I was called growing up that I hated? What are we waiting for?"

"Are you seriously marrying me because of some stupid comments from Finn and my dad?" Logan's voice started to rise, the alcohol not fully out of his system yet.

"Oh, don't give me that, I want to marry you. I want to be your wife, I want all of us to have the same last name. Yes, I'm tired of the wedlock and bastard but most importantly it made me upset when you thought the baby wouldn't be a Huntzberger, or when my mom thought the same. We're going to be a family. I know that we are a family without the marriage certificate but I'd really like it. I mean you're the one who asked months ago anyway, taking it back now?" Rory shot him a smile to let him know the last part was said in jest.

"You're serious?" He was happy, of course he was happy but that didn't stop him from worrying the little bit of alcohol in his system was playing tricks on him.

"Yes, Logan I want to marry you. How about this, tomorrow after we've moved them out, we will sit down and discuss it all but honestly, I'd be more than happy to go next week to City Hall, but Logan Huntzberger, I'd like to marry you soon."

"What about a big wedding?"

"Nope, just want you and my mom if she's still talking to me at this point. Invite Colin and Finn and Honor, maybe mom will bring Luke. But Logan, I want this. So, just think about this, especially when sober. Okay?"

Logan just nodded his head and they both started to fall asleep. In the middle of the night their bedside clock showed 3:38 a.m. Rory was woken up by a very sober Logan kissing her neck and whispering, "Next week sounds like a perfect week to make me your husband."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **A/N: Guys, this was my first story to break 100 reviews and I was so damn happy. Thank you thank you thank you!**

They had spent all of Saturday apart, Logan helped Colin and Finn move into their new home and set it up, although they didn't have much. Then he decided to stay over there for a little bit as Rory worked on the article she had due. She sat at the desk where she finished revising it, she'd have Logan take one last look at it tomorrow before she sent it off. It was only four and she knew that he could easily be over there for the next few hours, so she decided to take advantage of the fully quiet house. As she brought her favorite blanket over to the couch she also grabbed a notebook and started a list of things she would need. Within thirty minutes she was asleep with a Lifetime movie softly playing in the background.

Two hours after Rory closed her eyes, Logan came in to his house. Thankful for the empty guest rooms now as he knew that tomorrow they were working on turning one of those into the nursery. He came into the living room and went to kiss her awake before he saw the lists that had fallen out of her hands and onto the couch.

 _Nursery_

1\. Crib

2\. Diapers in all sizes.

3\. Clothes

4\. Paint

5\. Theme? Jane Austen? To overdone?

He made his way to the next list.

 _Baby Names_

1\. Emma (Austen, to overdone?)

2\. Matilda

3\. Scarlett

4\. Tori

Logan looked up at the Lifetime movie that was playing and quickly crossed off Tori, there was no way his child would be named after a Spelling.

5\. Catherine

6\. Maybe just ask Logan his thoughts?

At the last one Logan had to laugh, _well, at least that thought occurred to her at some point._

The next list really caught his attention however.

 _Wedding_

1\. Make sure you heard Logan right.

2\. Call city hall.

3\. Call Mom, see if I have to apologize for not doing anything wrong.

4\. Invite Grandma, Grandpa, and Honor.

5\. Pick out dress

All of those sounded right, although the first and third points bothered him a bit. Why would she apologize to Lorelei? She did nothing wrong besides want to name her baby what she wanted to. How could that possibly be something to apologize for? As for the first one, he could clear that up right now. He bent down to give her a kiss and wake her up. When he finally got her awake and alert enough he handed her the papers that were in his hands. "You heard me right Ace. I'd love to marry you." She smiled up at him and just as he went to give her a kiss she quickly avoided it.

"Well come on then! If we're going to get married then we better get planning, plus tomorrow is the nursery planning that we have to focus on. Which room is the baby getting?"

"I figured the one Colin was sleeping in for a few reasons. One, it's closer to our room and two, it's not one Finn has slept in."

"Two very excellent points Mr. Huntzberger."

"Just think, a week from now you'll be Mrs. Huntzberger." They both cringed at that. "Okay, we'll work on you reclaiming that name. Now, I think that the only to seal the fact that we've picked a date is by you actually kissing me."

"Ugh, fine, if you insist." She smiled as she reached up to kiss him.

"Now that all of that is taken care of, maybe we can work on number three?" Rory glanced down at her list and grimaced at his suggestion.

"Or, we can move this into the bedroom."

"You can't work blue when you're trying to get out of something."

"You know, you're no fun anymore. I should just go with Finn, he's more fun."

"Oh no you don't. I'll show you fun." Logan dragged her into their bedroom and an hour later he was running his fingers up her back. "Ace, you still have to call your mom."

"Drats, I was hoping you had forgotten about that."

"Not a chance, please, just call her. Fix this, whatever this is. I'm not going to marry you while you're arguing with her."

"You know, talking about my mom while we're in bed, not your smoothest move Huntzberger."

"Hey! I tried to talk about it earlier, I even let you seduce me. But not anymore." Logan looked at her resolutely.

She smirked at him as she started kissing his neck, while she was distracted he got an idea and he reached over and grabbed her phone and hit the number 2 on the speed dial. As Rory got lower the phone kept ringing, and just as she got to the bottom of his abs she heard him speak. "Hello Lorelei."

"Real funny Logan but what I'm about to do, I'd prefer you not call me my mother's name." By this time Logan put Lorelei on speaker.

"And what pray tell, child of mine, are you about to do?" Rory jolted up and almost knocked Logan out as she shot him a death glare.

"Um nothing, nothing Logan was just being annoying."

"Hmm, I'm sure hon. Anyway, what's up? I need to head back to the Inn." Logan cringed at her tone as he watched Rory's face contort in sadness at her mother's brush off.

"Well, actually, Logan and I were wondering if maybe you and Grandma and Grandpa could all come to San Francisco on Friday? We know it's last minute, but we'd really appreciate if you were here for the wedding." The line was silent for so long Rory thought that her mother had hung up, once she checked to see they were still connected she hesitantly spoke again. "Mom?"

A clearing of the throat was heard right before Lorelei spoke again. "Yeah babe, I'm here. Uh sorry just wasn't expecting that. Yeah, we'd love to be there. I want to see your place and we should probably talk. Maybe we will come in Thursday? Is that okay?"

"Yeah of course mom, anything you want. Just let me know." Rory let out a sigh of relief and was about to end the call before she heard her mom call her name. "Yeah?"

"Um, can I bring Luke too, or is your dad coming?"

"Of course, you can bring Luke! And no, dad isn't coming. I'd rather have Luke there."

"Thanks kid. I'm excited to see you guys."

"You too mom. Let me know when your flights are, and I'll pick you up. Bye mom!"

Once she hung up the phone her face fell into Logan's chest. "See, don't you feel better now that you called your mom?"

"I didn't call her, that would be you." Rory smacked him, and the baby kicked at the same time, hitting Logan in the side. Rory threw her hands up in triumph. "Ha! She takes my side, she takes my side."

"Yeah, yeah, I see how it is you two are already ganging up on me." Logan had a pout on his face but his tone was happy as he reached down to feel her stomach again where the baby was still kicking. "Wait, I think the baby is trying to tell me something. Hold on, yep, it's trying to say there is no way she will be named after a Lifetime Movie actress, which is really good call might I add."

"Okay, fair, I may have been a little tired when I wrote that one down. But there was also because Tori is short for Victoria which is my mother's name and I was thinking if we could work that in there maybe she wouldn't be as mad about the baby being named Lorelei."

"That makes sense, we can definitely put that on the short list."

"Really?" Rory was surprised he so readily agreed.

"Of course, Ace. Now tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow we shop!"

"Yes, but where?"

"Ikea, Target, Pottery Barn has some nice kid's stuff. They have a bed that goes from crib all the way to twin so the baby can be in that for a while. Plus, a bassinet or something for in here? I don't think I want the baby in their room from night one you know?"

"Oh, there's no way that girl is being let out of my sight for at least the first year." Logan said, as if it was a well-known fact like the color of the sky.

"You do realize you have to go to work, right babe?"

"Yeah but still, I'm with you. I'd feel better if she was in here at least part of the time."

"Sounds good. Did you have an idea for the theme at all? I was thinking literary, but I don't know, and I don't want any specific characters."

"As long as it's not nautical themed I'm good." Rory gave him a look, but he quickly brushed it off.

RLRLRL

Logan and Rory spent the whole day picking out furniture. Deciding to go with a dark cherry wood and darker accents for the nursery they decided to offset it with a pale pink. It had all started when Rory found a leather rocking chair that she wanted and when Logan suggested it for the office/ library Rory decided that the literary theme was the one that she wanted overall. Now that they had the plan they went home to clear out the room as the furniture would be delivered on Tuesday. When they got home she had Logan look over her article before she sent it off and they had an evening at home.

 **A/N: I wanted it to be a filler chapter and I wanted to say thank you all again for the reviews.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Logan walked into the house on Wednesday night, they were picking up Rory's family tomorrow, the wedding was Saturday and Honor was flying in Friday. He threw his laptop bag down as he heard her crying from the nursery.

"Rory?" He walked in to find her sitting on the leather chair with her head in her hands and crying. "Ace, what's wrong?"

"The room isn't done!"

"You do realize we have 18 weeks until this baby is here, right? That is more than enough time to get the room done. We have the furniture, we have the theme, heck we even have the crib sheets. What is wrong, we have time."

"I know, I just wish it was done, we still have to put the furniture together and I tried today, and it didn't go well at all."

"Haven't we talked about you, and me for that matter trying to put furniture together? Remember the end table we got, and we argued for 3 hours? Did you want a repeat of that?" He was trying to joke with her, but he forgot that she was not in the joking mood at all.

"Oh, you're just so funny and smart, aren't you? Logan! We have a packed weekend, then you're going to be busy with work until the baby gets here and I am clearly incompetent." At that Logan decided to cut in.

"You are far from incompetent, I will take care of it babe, I promise. There is time, but you have to breathe, okay? If not for me, then for the baby."

After a few deep breaths Rory looked around at the room and sighed before she looked up at Logan. "Please tell me you brought home food?"

"Are you kidding? I don't have a death wish."

RLRLRL

"Mom! You're here!" Rory ran to greet her mom at the baggage claim and almost knocked her down.

"Woah, that's some stomach you've got there."

"Lorelei, that is very rude. Rory looks adorable with her baby bump. Now, do you know what you guys are having? Your mother refused to tell us the whole plane ride here." Emily glared at Lorelei who had an evil smile on her face.

"Hi grandma and grandpa. Thank you, guys, for coming out at the last minute and we do know what the baby is but we will just have to show you when we get back to the apartment."

As the three women went to meet Luke, Logan and Richard who were getting the bags then they loaded themselves into the new SUV that Rory had bought for the baby. Rory and Luke sat in the back seat as Emily refused to crawl into a seat, Lorelei and Emily sat in the middle row captain chairs as Logan and Richard took the front.

"Mom, we will need to go dress shopping, grandma would you please join us?"

"You haven't gotten your dress yet? Honestly Lorelei, have you taught her nothing?"

"Oh look, it's all my fault again. I'm sorry mom, my daughter decided to move across the country and then plan a last-minute wedding." Rory let out an almost inaudible groan as Logan looked at her in the rearview mirror and sent her a sympathetic smile and Luke sent her a reassuring smile from his spot next to her.

"Guys, I wanted to do this this way. I didn't want the mess and fuss of a big wedding, we're happy out here. We found a great park that we will get married in on Saturday, I waited to go dress shopping, so you guys could go with me. Grandma, none of this is moms' fault, although I am glad I got you guys separate suites at the hotel we're staying at tomorrow and Saturday. Mom, you and Honor are standing with me at the altar, Logan has Colin and Finn, Grandma and Grandpa we'd like you guys to be our witnesses. Does that sound okay with everyone?" As everyone stayed quiet after her speech she gave one last look around the car before letting out a sigh of relief. "Good, now I'm hungry. Logan, tacos before we go home?"

"Really Rory, tacos?" Emily's voice was the only one besides Rory's that had spoken, and it was much shriller than anyone in the car was expecting.

"Yes, tacos. The baby wants tacos, I'm carrying the baby and I'm the bride. It's tacos, deal with it." Lorelei smirked as her daughter put her mother in her place. When she looked up into the rearview mirror she caught Logan sharing the same prideful smirk, her smile turned to a genuine one as she tipped an imaginary hat to him and he smiled right back at her.

"Fine, I just hope you have something better planned for the reception."

"Sure Grandma, I've picked only the finest drive-thrus for this whole trip." Richard let out a hearty laugh at that one, before quickly seeing Emily's glare and stopping the laugh from getting any deeper.

RLRL

Soon they walked into Logan and Rory's house as Rory led them into the kitchen she went to grab the ultrasound before he stopped her and kissed her forehead.

"Hey guys, if you could join me?" He led them all down the hallway until they reached the nursery door just as Rory stopped him.

"Um, Logan, this room is a disaster, I had the whole house cleaned except this room and then closed the door for a reason."

"Oh, is it a mess, check again Ace." He winked at her before he opened the door to reveal a light pink room with a crib set up in one corner with Rory's new chair in the adjacent corner sitting next to a wall of new built-in bookshelves filled to the brim with baby books. As Rory took it all in she started crying as she looked up at Logan in awe. She was about to ask him how, until she heard a shriek.

"It's a girl?! Oh Rory, Logan, congratulations." Emily spoke with tears in her eyes as she took in the room. "So, another Lorelei I assume?"

"We're still deciding on the baby's name." This time it was Lorelei who was shocked, she had thought the decision was made up.

After the initial shock was gone the group made their way out of the nursery, Luke and Richard stopped to shake Logan's hand as they made their way back into the living room. Just as Rory and Logan were about to close the door Rory grabbed onto his arm to ask him to stay back. "How did you do this?"

"The boys owed us a favor Ace. It was no big deal." She could tell he was trying to play it cool but underneath he was beaming.

"Did I ever tell you how happy I am that I'm marrying you? Seriously, I cannot thank you enough."

"For you, anything."

As he said that she got a knot in her stomach, knowing that tomorrow she would have to ask him to do something that he may not like, and she wasn't sure she could handle the look on his face as she asked. But before she could think to much about it he was calling her into the living room, so everyone could eat.

RLRLRL

Luke was awake before everyone the next morning, taking in the peaceful surroundings of Rory and Logan's back patio he stayed out there for a few moments before he heard the door slide open. Rory sat down next to him and sighed softly. "Luke, I have a question for you but I'm not sure if it's to forward. Quite frankly, I don't know what is going on with you and mom, it's not my place and she'll tell me when there is something to tell. But Luke, you've always been such a permanent fixture in my life. Even when you and mom were fighting, even when you guys were broken up, you've still been such an amazing person to me. I was wondering if you could possibly walk me down the aisle tomorrow? I know, it's a big ask and it's completely okay if you say no, but if you'd be okay with it, I'd love for you to do the honors."

"What about Christopher?" Luke was shocked by her question but he wanted to make sure she had thought of all the options before he gave his answer.

"Come on Luke is he the one who made me mashed potatoes for a week when I was sick?" She smiled at him.

"You know, the fact that I let Logan live through that day at your grandparent's vow renewal is a miracle. But yes, I'd be happy to walk you down the aisle."

"Thank you so much. Well, I'm going to go head back to bed, Logan gets all antsy if he wakes up and I'm not within arm's reach." Rory rolled her eyes but the smile on her face proved that she loved it.

RLRLRL

As Logan left a few hours later to pick Honor up from the airport and Rory had a few more hours until they were going to leave for San Diego and dress shopping, so she decided to ask Richard to join her in their office.

"Grandpa, did you bring the prenup?"

"I did, but Rory do you really think this is necessary? Logan loves you, I don't believe he thinks this is necessary."

"I know he doesn't, quite frankly I'm worried about his reaction, but I don't want Mitchum or Shira or anyone else thinking that I married Logan for money, or that I didn't want this for love. I wanted all bases covered."

"Okay, well it sounds like he's home, so I'll leave you to it." Richard left the office and passed Logan on his way. "Hello son, Rory asked to see you in the office." With a small nod exchanged between the two men Logan made his way to Rory.

"Hey Ace, all okay? I just got summoned like it's the Godfather in here." She gave him a small half-smile that didn't fully reach her eyes. "Um, Rory, seriously everything okay?"

"Can you sit down?" Logan was really worried now, she was distant, and she kept tugging on her sleeves as if she was nervous.

"Uh oh, is the baby really Finn's?" The small half-smile turned into a small laugh this time. Well, at least that was something.

"I called my grandfather earlier this week, I had him draw something up for us, well his lawyer at least." Logan quickly realized where this was going and shot out of the chair he had been sitting in.

"Rory no."

"Logan—"

"NO! We're not doing a damn prenup Rory. I trust you, I don't care what you're bringing in to this marriage, I don't care what I'm bringing in. Rory it doesn't matter. What the hell?!"

"Logan, your voice is going to carry, and we have guests."

"We had guests when you decided to drop this bomb on me too Rory." Even though he was upset he knew she had a point, so he slightly lowered his voice.

"I'm sorry Logan. I just thought we should get it out of the way, I don't want your parents having another thing to hold over my head or yours for that matter. I don't care about your money or how much I would get if we were to divorce, you should know that. This isn't about that. This is me just making sure that not only are you covered but that we're covered from your parents when they hear about this. This wasn't an automatic sign that we're going to get divorced, this was just me feeling like you deserved to be protected too."

Logan let out a sigh as he sat back down in a chair. She had remained far away from him, making sure to give him his space. "What happens if I refuse to sign?"

"Well then I'll stand by my husband when my in-laws call him a moron and I'll only say, 'I told you so' once." She gave him a small smile as he laughed.

"Listen, we have to go into the city, I have to go dress shopping, we can make it a postnup if you need more time to make a decision, but I just want to make sure you and no one else feels taken advantage of in this situation Logan. Unless, there's not going to be a wedding anymore?"

Logan looked at her in shock, "You're joking right? Of course, there is going to be a wedding, don't be ridiculous."

"Alright then, we better get everyone out of here." She leaned down and gave him a kiss as he grabbed the prenup from the desk and tore it in two.

"How about I give you two 'I told you so's' is that okay?" She rolled her eyes, kissed him again and left the room muttering about him being a stubborn pain in her ass.

RLRLRL

"White, really Rory?"

"Oh Lorelei, don't be so crude."

"I'm just saying mom, I think Emily Post would frown upon a pretty pregnant bride walking down the aisle in a Snow-White gown."

Rory and Honor stood at the back of the room listening to the same argument for the past ten minutes when a worker at the bridal shop brought over two glasses, one with champagne and one with sparkling water. Honor lifter her glass and slightly tipped her glass to Rory. "To Rory's maidenhood." They both giggled before Rory spoke. "At least I know this is one bridal party the groom hasn't slept with." Making Honor choke on her drink in a laugh.

After another 45 minutes of shopping Rory found the one that she wanted, it was a Grecian style sleeveless dress that flowed over her stomach perfectly, while the back was open save for the silver hoops that linked the two straps behind her back. It was an off-white, so Lorelei wouldn't make inappropriate comments throughout the ceremony and it fit like a glove. The other women all chose a different deep blue dress and Rory texted Logan, so he could choose the men's ties accordingly.

That night after dinner Lorelei made Rory go to her suite so they could have one last movie night together, even though the wedding was not a big fuss and even though they were a hundred percent sure about this decision the nerves were felt by both. It wasn't until the next morning, when Logan saw Rory walking down the aisle did the nerves finally dissipate.

Grabbing her hands as tight as he could he tried to remember his vows even though it felt physically impossible to breath after looking at her. "Rory Gilmore, months ago I told you that you amaze me every day and that has become even more true now. You have taken every moment of this transition in stride, you've taken my new job and crazy schedule, the morning sickness, the other additions to our lives and you've conquered every single one. While working and growing another person. You are the strongest, most beautiful woman I have ever met, and you will remain that until the day I die. I can only hope that our daughter is more like you with every passing day and less like me. I love you Rory Gilmore and I can't wait to be your husband to support you the way you've been supporting me for the past three years."

"Amen!"

"Finn, hush, it's not the time."

"Oh, is it not that kind of church?"

"We're in a park you moron."

Rory cleared her throat as Logan looked at the two disruptions to the ceremony while Honor and Lorelei held back their laughter. "Logan Huntzberger, today I stand her and promise you everything I have to give I will give to you and our family. I am so proud to stand up here today with the man that I always knew you were and could be, the man I'm proud to call my husband the father of our daughter. I love you Logan, more and more with every passing moment and I will be here standing next to you every step of the way as long as you'll have me."

"By the power vested in me, by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Logan kissed Rory like he had never kissed her before, while also trying to remember that their families were watching. As he grabbed her hand they made their way back to the limo they had rented for everyone before making their way back to the hotel for a lunch together.

RLRLRL

The next morning, they took everyone to the airport and said their goodbyes at security. It wasn't until everyone was out of sight before Logan dragged her to the other side of the airport where the private planes were. "You ready for a little adventure Ace?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"What do you mean adventure? Last time I checked, the past five months have been enough of an adventure!"

"Come on, where's the girl I married, the one who jumps off scaffolding and plans huge blowouts of a party, and is even a little felonious?"

"Um, that's the girl you dated, the woman you married is and was pregnant and tired." Logan stopped at that and looked back at Rory before he came to realize how true that statement was. She had been overworked, she had been doing a lot for the house and their lives, of course she would probably be tired which is why he thought a small getaway would be perfect for her, a chance to relax away from everyone.

"Sorry." He looked like a wounded puppy dog as he continued. "I just wanted us to get away for a bit, and I can't help myself from wanting to surprise you." And then he grinned at her, the sheepish, boyish, please don't be mad at him grin that was even more convincing than his smirk was.

"You really have it all planned out?" She didn't know why she was asking, of course he did. He never fully did anything half-assed unless you count that trip to Costa Rica. "Moron" She mumbled under her breath, but it didn't stop Logan from hearing it.

"What did you call me?" There was a humor to his tone as he realized not only was he breaking her but he was getting her close to goaded.

"Oh, I just was thinking about you being a moron for that Costa Rica trip, is this trip as harebrained as that one?"

The smirk was back as he looked her over one last time before continuing his convincing plea. "Do you really think I'd let anything happen to my girls?" God, she loved when he said that. "No, I wouldn't. So, with that in mind will you please get your stubborn ass to the airstrip?"

"You've never had any complaints about that particular body part before, complaining now?" She smiled at him before walking away from him towards the private jet that Finn had rented for them as a wedding present.

Logan took an extra few seconds to check her out before reaching out and holding her hand. "No complaints at all."

On the plane Logan went to talk to the captain before they took off and then left to go to the back of the plane to check on Rory. "Okay babe we're going to take off in a min—" Once he made his way back he found Rory with a book in her hands and asleep with her head on the back of the chair. As he sat down he placed a small kiss on the top of her forehead before sitting down and grabbing her hand before he fell asleep.

Six hours later the flight stopped in Hawaii, to fuel up. Logan woke up once the flight landed due to slight bump of the landing. He realized that they had slept the whole first leg of the trip, he slowly shook Rory's shoulder. "Ace, ace come on babe, you need to stand up and stretch your legs for you and the baby."

"Hmm?" Rory was exhausted, she had forgotten how easy it was to fall asleep on a flight and with Logan's shoulder it was all the more easier. "No, I'm tired, baby is tired. I just want to sleep."

"I know you do babe, and you can nap for the next half of the trip, but please, just a small walk around the plane." He dragged her up and led her on a small walk around the plane with her using him as more or less of a crutch due to the exhaustion coursing through her body. Within a few moments she is back in her seat and using Logan's lap as a pillow. The nap he had taken had been enough for him so he grabbed the book she had been reading and started reading it himself and played with her hair for the rest of the flight.

RLRLRL

"Logan, where are we?" Rory had never felt so refreshed, but she supposed a fifteen-hour flight would do that for you.

"Come on Ace, where has been your secret screensaver for months?" Rory had a slideshow of pictures on her computer and at least 75% of them were the same destination over and over. This is where he had originally planned on being their honeymoon but he wasn't sure he could do it with her feeling well.

"Fiji?! We're in Fiji?" God, Logan could look at that smile all day. She finally looked relaxed, and happy. No more wedding planning, no more morning sickness, no more Colin and Finn. Yes, this is what he wanted, a healthy, relaxed wife. Once he remembered the ring on his finger his smile got even bigger.

"Of course, anything for my wife." The smirk was back and beaming

"You just like saying that, don't you?" He smiled at her in response as they walked into the beach villa that had been decked out with rose petals and chocolate covered strawberries. "This is incredibly cheesy Huntzberger, even for you."

"I know, but there's a few things I wanted to do that we can't with the baby. So, I wanted to make sure we had some of the cheesy romantic stuff. We deserve it. You," He kissed her, "You definitely deserve it. All of it Rory Gilmore."

"Huntzberger."

"Huh?"

"You called me Rory Gilmore, it's Rory Huntzberger."

"Mhm, that it is." He leaned down to kiss her again before they finished touring the house.

RLRLRL

They spent the whole evening locked up in the master bedroom of the house, hiding from the responsibilities of home, hiding from the world for a little bit. Finally she made them check in the next morning. Rory had watched a few more debates and submitted articles with her opinion on the political climate while Logan checked emails and put out a few fires that should not have needed his attention in the first place. Finally, 5 hours later they were both broken out of their work trance when Rory's stomach growled loudly. "Damn Ace was that you or the baby?"

"Oh, hush and feed me." He smiled at her as he went to start lunch for them. He had made sure the villa was decked out with any and all groceries they might need just in case. Rory came up behind him as he made them grilled fish and vegetables. A light lunch before they went out that evening. "Hey Logan, have you put any more thoughts into baby names? I know we still have some time before we have to decide but I figured we should talk about it, you know?"

"Well, where did you land on the Lorelei thing? I know it seemed like it would be important to your mom but what about you?"

"I don't think I want Lorelei in the name, but I wouldn't be opposed to her middle name which is Victoria as the baby's middle name."

"I think that's a good idea and I'm completely open to that. I have a few ideas if you want to talk about it over lunch?" Logan started plating their lunches as they made their way to the balcony, once he set the plates down Rory expected him to sit down on the other side of her, instead he disappeared back into the villa and came back a few seconds later with a notebook that had multiple lists of baby names.

"Woah, you really have thought about this."

"Of course, I have, that's my baby girl. Sometimes when I'm bored at work I'll try to think of different names see how they work with Huntzberger, having the middle name picked out will help a lot too." He kept rambling on about different ways he had decided against some names, or how some stood out to him the most, but Rory was only catching bits and pieces as she stared at the man sitting across from her. Three years ago, he couldn't commit to a date a week away, 2 years ago he couldn't say I love you back, 1 year ago they were separated by a whole ocean but today he was showing her lists of baby names for their baby. A baby that he didn't see as a burden, didn't see as something that would drag their life down but instead he fought for the baby, for her and for them. Noticing that she had spaced out a bit Logan kept calling her name to get her attention. Finally, Rory snapped her head up to look at him.

"Sorry babe, what did you say?"

"Where'd you go?" Logan asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

"I was just thinking of proud I am of you. How you turned into such an amazing man, I'm just incredibly thankful you were my one."

"I'm pretty thankful too Ace. Now let's eat and then we can look over my short list of names. Did you have one as well?" Rory looked at him like he was insane. "Of course, who do I think I am talking to?"

After lunch they both sat down and looked over their lists, vetoing names and putting them on a combined final list. Logan liked Mary, but a glare from Rory made him rethink that suggestion quickly. Rory had to cross a few to many names off her list for her liking when Logan made a face that told her she didn't want to ask any more questions. Finally, they had their top names.

 _Baby Girl Huntzberger_

 _Charlotte Victoria (Charlie nn)_

 _Emmelyn Victoria (Emmy nn, to close to Emily?)_

 _Sophie Victoria_

 _Madeline Victoria_

 _Caroline Victoria_

RLRLRL

After a week of relaxing between the beach, the villa, and shopping around town Rory and Logan knew they had to get back to the real world. Eventually they made their way home with Rory only sleeping a little bit on the plane she took the time to work and bank a few stories so that way if she needed to rest at home she could. Once they arrived home they dropped their bags in the foyer, and before they knew it they were dropped in their bed and didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning. Rory woke up to the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen as she made her way to check on her new husband, she grabbed herself a small cup of coffee and tried to find Logan throughout the house. Finally she heard some yelling coming from the back patio.

"Are you kidding me? That is who it was? How did they find out? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? No. No I don't want it coming out yet. I don't freaking know god damn it, but I will figure it out." Rory was about to head out to check on him and offer support but when she heard him slam his phone shut and throw it across the backyard. She went inside and a few minutes later she heard the backdoor slam, heavy footsteps and the front door slam right behind him. Quickly she grabbed her phone and texted Colin. _*Logan got bad news, I don't know what happened, he stormed out, hopefully heading to you guys. Just help him okay? Also, it's 9 in the morning, please remember that.*_

Within a few minutes she received a message from Colin. _*He's here, do you want us to send him back? Sorry he stormed out, you okay? *_

 _*Yeah, I'm fine, I don't think he even knew I was awake. Just send him home when he's ready. *_

Suddenly she was incredibly glad that Colin and Finn lived only a less than 2-minute walk away instead of a plane ride away.

RL

"I can't believe her."

"Who, Rory? Aw, the honeymoon wasn't that successful huh buddy?" Logan sent Finn a growl and glare and kept pacing.

"What happened Logan? Rory texted and let us know you'd be over here." Logan stopped pacing and stared at Colin after he spoke.

"Wait, Rory was up? Fuck, I thought she was still asleep, is she mad?"

"No, she said just come home when you're ready, she just wanted us to make sure you were okay. Want to tell us what happened?"

"Shira, she's been blacklisting Rory, she would have Mitchum's assistant send letters to publications warning against her. How do I tell her that? How do I tell her that she married into a psychotic family who is trying to ruin her?"

"Mate, she has known that for years, within a day of being your girlfriend she knew that. She still picked you. You should probably let her know though, also let Mitchum know. I know you guys aren't exactly talking right now, but you guys never really are. He would want to know, he needs to know because this can come back on him too."

"Good point. I'll send him an email and let him know. I should probably talk to Rory too."

"Are you calm yet Logan?" Colin knew he wasn't and he knew he had to go back to his calmed down because the last thing Rory needed right now is a pissed off Logan barreling through the house.

"Not yet, but I'll be fine, I don't want to worry her more." His voice still had a significant edge to it.

"Listen, stay here, we can play poker, do something, but stay here for a few hours." After a few moments Logan realized Colin had a point so he sat down at the poker table they had, the only real piece of furniture besides some beds that they had and decided to play a few hands. As he waited for Finn to be done dealing he sent Rory a text message, he had spent years just disappearing when things got hard. He couldn't do that anymore and he wanted her to know that he knew that. _*I'm sorry Ace. I'm playing poker with the boys and then I'll come home and talk. All is well, or at least it will be.*_

 _*No reason to be sorry, enjoy your day with them. I have stuff to work on here. We can talk later. I love you Logan. *_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Three hours, countless hands of poker, and taking Finn for more money than should be humanly possible Logan walked in. Rory was still in her office where she had gone after Logan had left. She was working on articles and trying to make sure she had everything ready for the baby even if she was 15 weeks away. He wasn't sure what he was walking into, would she be mad at him, Colin had said she seemed to be understanding but between memories of how he had been in the past, the pregnancy, and the fact that she had been up when he stormed out he was worried she wouldn't be as understanding as she was just a few hours ago. With those thoughts in mind he slowly pushed open the door only to find her hunched over the desk typing away. When she heard the door creak she looked up to see him standing by the door with his hands in his pockets and slightly leaning towards her.

"Hey babe, how was the frat house?" There wasn't any anger in her voice but that didn't stop Logan from getting worried.

"Um, it was fine. I'm sorry I ran out Ace, I didn't know you were up and—"

"Logan, for real, it's fine. I had stuff to do. We just spent a whole week together, I had planned on you spending the day with them anyway without any of the drama that had happened."

"So, we're really okay?"

"Yeah. And when you're ready to talk about what ever happened, I'll be even better but for now, if you need to process it, I get it. Just let me know when you're ready to talk." She smiled at him and went back to typing. He knew she wasn't dismissing him but he still took that as the conversation being over so he made his way to the kitchen table and pulled out his laptop, getting ready to draft the email he wasn't sure would make any kind of difference but he needed to do it.

 _To:_

 _From:_

 _Subject: Meeting_

 _I'd like to set up a meeting, I will be in Hartford in two days, I'll be at the office at noon on Monday. See you then._

 _Logan_

There would be no room for negotiation, or room to fight, he was having this discussion in person and it could be the final straw in the already strained relationship with his parents. He caught up on his own work and let the partners at his company know that he would be out of town again for the first half of the week, but he would be working remotely. After about an hour Rory walked in to grab a glass of water and Logan stopped her on her way to the office. "Hey Ror, can we talk?" She gave him a look but sat down anyway. He took a deep breath and finally started talking. "It's my mom."

Rory's face paled, "Oh my god, Logan is she sick? Can we do something? Do we need to get back to Hartford?"

Logan shook his head, of course she would ask that right now, making the actual revelation that much harder. "No, I mean she's the one trying to blacklist you. She got the help of my dad's assistant so it looked like it came from him, making it look more official and scary but it was her Ace. God, I'm so sorry. But I do need to go back to Hartford, I need to meet with my dad about this face to face. I know he won't be on our side, I know that it is a useless mission, but it's something I have to do. I will say it again, I am so sorry."

She sat there stunned, unable to form a complete sentence or even blink at this point. Finally, after a few moments her faculties came back to her and she blinked and looked up at Logan. "Why are you sorry?"

Now it was Logan's turn to be dumbfounded. "For what my mom did, for having yet another thing to stress you out about."

"Logan, you can't control your psychotic mom's actions, I don't blame you. We can handle it. When do we leave? Can you even leave work after the honeymoon?"

"Wait, you're coming with?"

"Um, duh."

"Nice Ace." Logan smirked at her and for the first time in this conversation she felt like she could breath again. She just needed to see that it was going to be okay and if he could calm himself down enough for that, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

RLRLRL

Logan was getting ready to leave for Mitchum's office when Rory came out of the bedroom of the suite they had dressed in a business suit that perfectly accented her stomach. He came over to her and rubbed hands along her back before he reached his hands around to hold her stomach in time to feel his daughter kick. "Not that you don't look absolutely beautiful babe, but where are you going dressed like that?"

"Your dad's office, just like you are."

"No."

"I'm sorry, no?"

"You can't get caught in that Logan. You can't get caught in the pressure cooker that is my father's office, no I won't allow it." With that Rory barked out a humorless laugh.

"Oh, you cannot be serious Huntzberger."

"Ace—" Logan tried to calm his voice.

"Logan, this is my career you're fighting for. This is my living! I deserve to be in that meeting." Rory's voice was escalating, as was her heartrate.

"And that's my baby in there!"

"DON'T YOU DARE PULL THE BABY CARD LOGAN! I'll be in that damn meeting, with or without you. Get your ass in the car now." Logan didn't like the look on her face, he didn't like the anger in her eyes. Something that used to make her irresistible now terrified him as he worried about the baby.

"Okay, okay," He ran his hand over his face, calming himself down. "Okay we both need to calm down. Ace, you can be there, just please calm down, for me and the baby?"

"Get in the car and we'll talk about it." And with that she was out the door and making her way to the elevator with Logan following quickly behind her.

"Let's hope this baby doesn't get your stubborn streak." She heard him mumble under his breath as he entered the elevator behind her.

"Well, let's hope this baby doesn't inherit your cocky, piece of shit attitude."

They were silent the ten-minute ride to the lobby, there wasn't a word spoken until they pulled up HPG 10 minutes later. Finally, he turned to her. "Rory, if we're going to go in there and we're going to battle we have to be at least on the same team, do you hear me?"

"I'm on team me. God knows what team you're on."

"Oh, come off it Rory, you know I'm on your team too. I'm the one who set up this damn meeting in the first place. But come on, I know how he can be, he's a bully. He's exhibited that more and more over the past three and a half years, I just got defensive and I didn't want you to be in that situation." He knew he had made valid points, but he wasn't sure if they had sunk in until he watched her grab her bag off the floor of the car and get out.

With a small smile she turned back to him and said, "You coming with Huntzberger?"

This elevator ride up to his dad's office was less tension filled than the one they had back at the hotel, but he didn't realize that the tension wasn't from the fight earlier until she grabbed his hand and he realized the tension he was feeling was actually Rory's nerves. He squeezed her hand as the doors opened and they made their way to his dad's assistant. "We're here to see Mitchum."

"Name?" God Rory hated this woman, she was smiling at Logan and trying to flirt with him, and if that wasn't enough she was also trying to ruin Rory's career. Oh yeah, Rory really hated her.

"Logan and Rory Huntzberger." There was no mistaking the venom behind her society smile and Logan smirked next to her. She was here to play hard ball and he couldn't wait to see her, and then show her how appreciative he was back at the hotel.

The assistant stammered that he would be right with them but before she could finish the thought Mitchum's office door opened and he ushered them in.

"What is she doing here?"

"This meeting concerns her dad. Or are you talking about your secretary who likes to send out notices on behalf of your wife with your name attached?"

"What are you getting at Logan?"

Rory stepped in between the two of them. "What he means is that Miss Fake boobs out there has been sending out threats on orders from your wife talking about how hiring me would be costly to publications and other veiled threats. How do you think that looks Mitchum? You trying to destroy a girl for some personal vendetta or if it gets out what is really happening, that you can't control even your own secretary." Mitchum looked on stupefied while Logan sat back in his chair smirking, glad Rory decided to push her way into this meeting. "So, which is it Mitchum? Are you petty or just not quick enough to realize what is going on under your own company's roof? What excuse do you think the board will be more upset by?"

Mitchum regained his wits about him as he stared at this girl who he was positive he had put in her place years ago. "You will not come into my company and make threats to me."

"Just like how you came into my house and made threats to me? No, I have every right to be here Mitchum and I have no problem standing up for my career. You have 24 hours to come up with a plan and fix this or I will make sure that word of this gets out." Without another word Rory stormed out of the office with one last smirk at the woman behind the desk, no doubt she wouldn't be there come tomorrow. As she made her way back into the main lobby the adrenaline wore off and she realized Logan wasn't behind her.

Back in Mitchum's office the two Huntzberger men were staring at each other when Mitchum finally broke the silence. "I can't believe you sent your girlfriend in here to fight this battle, grow up Logan."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my wife and you'd be damn surprised at what she can do, it would be best if you remembered that." Mitchum looked shocked as he took in the sight of the ring on Logan's left hand.

As Logan got up to leave he heard his dad speak again. "I thought you were coming back to join the company, I have the contracts sitting right here if you'd like to take a look." Logan slammed the door he had just started to open, and he turned back to his father with a fury that he was sure matched Rory's earlier in the hotel.

"You honestly expected me to come back to this company? After the things you've done and said to Rory, after sending Colin and Finn to try to get me to leave her and the baby? I'm not you Mitchum, I place to know my daughter, nothing that is in those contracts will ever make me say otherwise, do you hear me? There's a reason you weren't invited to my wedding, there is a reason you will never know your granddaughter. And if those weren't reasons enough, the fact that Shira decided to tamper with her career is all the more reason. Don't expect to see us again, don't step foot near us, do you hear me? You created this bed, expect to lie in it." With that he slammed the door behind him, finally feeling free of his father, but also secretly grateful for the trust fund he still had full control of in his name. Once he saw Rory downstairs he grabbed her hand and they made their way back to the hotel where he made sure to show her exactly how proud he was of her and how sorry he was for earlier.

Mitchum wasted no time letting the easily manipulated woman at the front desk go without a second thought, he still wasn't sure how he would confront Shira or deal with the aftermath of the supposed threats he had sent but he would have to find a way to reverse it before it came out that he had lost so much control.

RLRLRL

They had been home for the past week and a half and it was finally the weekend, Rory had been gone since early this morning, Logan had watched her walk out the door saying she had some errands to run and convinced him she was perfectly fine to go on her own. He would check in every couple hours but the closer it got to lunch the more he wondered what she was up to. When he heard the front door open and close he thought for sure she would walk in and ask what he was hungry for, but instead of his wife's brunette hair he saw two other brunettes walk in.

"Logan why is your girl at our house with paint swatches and a measuring tape?" Colin asked as he sat on Logan's sectional with his feet on the coffee table. Finn came into the room following him with a scotch in one hand for himself and two for Colin and Logan who both shook their head in refusal for the drink. "I'd prefer to make it past noon today Finn, thanks though."

"Wait, Rory is at your house? I've been wondering where she was all day."

"Yeah mate, she's been there most of the morning, woke me up too. Barged into my room mumbling how I could possibly sleep without a proper bedroom set up and then proceeded to measure almost everything in my room!"

Logan looked over at Finn with a questioning look in his eye. "Wait, almost everything? What did she miss?" Finn wiggled his eyebrows causing both Colin and Logan to smirk and groan at the same time.

"Now that Finn has been gross, care to explain what she is doing?"

"I'm not sure, probably got tired of switching this house around moved to your house. If you guys mind, just kick her out. Nicely if you can because she'll cry at anything but feel free to tell her no. She's been writing like crazy and I'm sure this room would be constantly moved around if the furniture weren't so heavy and she weren't so pregnant."

"Hey, is that why the guest rooms look so different and none of the nursery furniture is where we originally put it?" Logan just nodded his head at Colin's question. "Hey, if she wants to entertain herself by making our house look unlike a pair of squatters are stuck there, who are we to stop her? Right Finn?"

"As long as she doesn't wake me up, I never mind having Rory in my room."

"Still Logan's wife Finn." Rory said, surprising all the men as she walked into the living room. "And I'd appreciate if you never ask if I'd like to see if you 'measure up to Logan' ever again." She added with a smirk as Finn sank further into the seat as Logan glared at him.

Logan grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her down to sit next to him, kissing her forehead and then her stomach. "Well, now I know where you ran off to this morning. Decided to redecorate for them?"

"Logan, have you seen it over there? I mean honestly, how two people could live like that is beyond me!"

"Hey!" Colin and Finn shouted in unison. "That is our pride and joy, we put work into that!"

"You guys have a pool table, a tv, a bar, and some beds to sleep in. I'm going to make it look nice and there's nothing either of you can do about it."

"Just take it easy, okay Ace? You're in your third trimester and you need to slow down."

Rory's jaw set and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Logan. "I'm a big girl Logan. I will be fine, okay?"

Finn and Colin shared a look of amusement and terror as Finn grabbed his credit card from his wallet. "Here love, go crazy. But I'm actually with Logan here, try to be careful, okay?"

Rory grabbed the card out of Finn's hands and rolled her eyes at the three of them. "You all are ridiculous, I'm fine, the baby is fine, I'm just helping you all not live in squalor. Now, who wants lunch? It's on Finn!" As she started to get off the couch she realized it was a little harder than it was a few weeks ago and she went to sit back down to gain more momentum. All the boys watched in amusement until she finally turned to Logan with a defeated look on her face.

"Need help there, Ace?"

"No." Her stubbornness was back as she tried to get up again. A few minutes later she looked back over to Logan and sighed. "Not a word, do you hear me?"

"I'd never dream of it." He said with a tint of laughter to his voice as the boys behind him tried to contain their laughter as well.

"Fine, just for that, we're getting Indian!"

"NO!" All three of them groaned. "Come on, we didn't even say anything."

"To bad Huntzberger, I saw the stupid smirk on your face. If you say something again it will be the only thing I crave once a week until this baby is here." Logan set his jaw determined to not have that smell permeating his house for the remainder of this pregnancy.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Hey handsome, what are you doing in here?" Rory had come home from her last day of remodel on the boy's house and was thinking Logan wouldn't be home. It wasn't until she saw the nursery light on that she wandered in and found him sitting on the plush leather rocking chair.

"You know, the night I proposed I thought you were going to say no when you asked me to come over. I thought I was going to lose the best thing that had ever happened to me besides my sister. I thought it was going to be all down-hill, I'd come out to California, bury myself in work, become my dad. I thought it was all over." Logan's voice started to break a bit, so Rory came over to sit next to him. Once he found his voice again he continued. "I thought it was all over, then I found out you were pregnant. And for once that feeling wasn't scary or like a burden, it was perfect. I just remember that day so vividly and now, now you're about to pop and we're about to have this life together and I just remember the pure fear when I thought you were going to say no."

"Logan, it was always supposed to be you, I'm not going anywhere. The reason I stopped and paused that day had nothing to do with us, they had to do with me. I freaked, I panicked, but I've always been sure about us. Where is this coming from babe?"

"She's almost here." His voice was quiet as he looked around the room, which had now been moved back to the way it originally was. "We have a bassinet in our room for her, we have books and animals and more clothes than even Honor has. We've already set up a life for her. What if she doesn't like her life? What if she resents me, or we have a boy one day and I push him until he cracks, or I try to destroy the woman he loves. What if I can't do this Rory?"

"Look at me." He brought his eyes down to the floor. "Logan, look at me. You are not Mitchum, far from it. And do I look like Shira?" Logan's face was horrified for a minute and Rory had to smile at that. "Logan, you're not him, I'm not her, this baby isn't a Lorelei, this house isn't a potting shed or a mansion, this is a home we've built for a baby we love. It's okay that we're scared, it's okay that we're nervous, but to think that we wouldn't want the best for this baby is crazy. So, please, don't feel like that. Why haven't you talked to me about this? Even the night of the proposal, babe, you should've told me."

"I hadn't really thought about it. I just thought about it today when I was at work and I realized that I had been there for 12 hours already. I've been there so many late nights and that's not what I wanted, I should be here with you. And now, I have to go out of town and you're so close to delivering but I have to go, and I just felt awful."

"Logan don't be crazy, I've been gone too. I've been out of this house almost the whole day too. I've been writing, I've been making sure Finn doesn't try to bribe the construction men to sing the YMCA for him, I've been busy too. You're working, and you're taking time off when the baby is born. Just breathe, okay? And the baby isn't due for another 4 weeks, so you're fine to go out of town as long as you come home to us. We have plenty of time to make them miserable, but it will be because we're being overprotective and not wanting them to commit a felony, not because we're pushing them into some preordained destiny. Do you hear me?"

Logan nodded as he stood up and grabbed her hand to help her off the floor, once she was pulled up against his chest she wrapped her arms around him the best she could, deciding to break the tension Logan made a joke. "Have I been gaining weight? Can't seem to get your arms around me there Ace."

Her eyes were a glare, but her lips turned into a smile as he leaned down to kiss her. "Yes, you are, I think you need to stop drinking, all those empty calories. Tsk, tsk, honey."

"I dare you to tell that to Finn, in fact, let's call him and invite him!"

"Oh, but baby, I had much different plans for us this evening." Rory spoke seductively. Bringing herself to him and kissing his chest.

"Never mind, I like your idea much more." He reached to grab her face, but she turned to move out of his arms.

"I knew you'd agree! Now, what sounds good for dinner?" With a wink she waddled out into the kitchen to start dinner.

RLRLRL

Two days, a plane ride, a town car, and a visit to hell later Logan sat in his father's study's desk. He knew his father would be getting home soon and he wanted to have the higher ground, proverbial or not, he was making it clear he was controlling this meeting. His phone buzzed and as he looked down at it he saw a grainy video of Rory's bare stomach and he could see where the baby was kicking, she had included text saying that his girls were just saying hi and they missed him. _Oh yeah, I'm doing the right thing here._ Just as he shut his phone he could hear his father's booming voice coming down the echoing halls.

"I don't care about their numbers, I refuse to pay that amount, do you hear me?" Just then Mitchum slammed open the door and in his anger, it took a few seconds for him to register what, or who, was sitting at his desk. "I meant what I said, I'm not paying that, I will walk away from this deal." And the call was ended without a word of finality. "What are you doing here Logan?"

"My daughter is going to be here in a month, in a month I'm going to get a chance to right every wrong you've ever done with Honor and me. In a month I'm going to be ten times the father you could even dream about. But before that can happen, I need to know that if my wife tries to get a job anywhere in her chosen field she will not be blocked. She gave you time, she also has a career and a life, so she let you off the hook. I'm not nearly as generous as she is, so I need to know."

"Get out of my chair Logan."

"No. Give me my answer about Rory and I will be out of your hair, well what's left of it, for as long as I can. But you will give me an answer about her." They stared at each other for a few silent moments, neither willing to break. Anytime he felt like cowering like he had in the past he remembered the video he was just sent, he remembered why he was doing this.

Finally, after a long sigh Mitchum broke the silence. "Your mother is staying at the house in Martha's Vineyard, she is not welcome here for the foreseeable future. I don't care what she did to Rory, but she had no business interfering in my name. As for the threats, I cannot send a retraction and I won't, but I will not stand in her way."

"That's not good enough." His words were simple, but his tone was not. The air of the threat was not lost on Mitchum as Logan got out of the chair, crossed the room and left the room. The sound of the front door slamming was the only sound that echoed through the Huntzberger mansion.

RLRL

Logan climbed into bed 6 hours later as he wrapped his arm around Rory the baby started kicking and he smiled and leaned down to her stomach. "Hey there baby girl, I missed you too. Thanks for being good while I was gone, I was worried you'd try to come while I was gone."

"Hey you." Rory looked down at him sleepily. "Don't let her fool you, she's been kicking up a storm and making it hard to get comfortable."

"I'm sorry, should I discipline her now? Maybe have her go to time out on the other side of your womb?" Logan asked her cheekily.

"Oh, you're so cute Huntzberger, but what are you doing home? I didn't expect you back for a few days."

"I got the things I needed done, wasn't about to stay away from you guys for too long."

"I'm glad you're home baby." He got up to her where her head was laying on their pillows and kissed her.

"I missed you too Ace."

"Oh yeah?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "How much?"

RLRL

The next morning Logan was laying in bed, Rory had offered to get up and get breakfast ready for him since he had traveled so much the night before. He was in and out of sleep and had just fallen back asleep when he heard Rory scream from down in the kitchen. Without a second of hesitation he was out of bed and in the kitchen quicker than he knew he could get there. When he saw her laying down on the kitchen floor with her face contorted in pain he thought he was going to be sick. He quickly dialed 911 as he crawled on the ground next to her.

"Logan." She barely got the word out.

"Shh, babe, shh, it's okay." His head was reeling, what if he had been gone another day, what if he hadn't been here? His thoughts were interrupted by her screaming and the paramedics at the door. "She's in here, she's 36 weeks pregnant, she just screams in pain." The paramedics loaded her in and Logan climbed in after her, not noticing that Colin could see everything from his driveway. He ran inside his house, waking Finn up and they both drove to the nearest hospital barging into the emergency room but stayed in the lobby. An hour later, after not being able to receive any information from the front desk Logan came out to the lobby for a breather, needing to get out of the room where Rory was now sleeping.

"Mate! What happened, how is she, how is love junior?" Logan stared at them for a few seconds, bewildered.

"How did you guys get here? How did you know?"

"I was outside when the ambulance came, we came right over. Is she okay?" Colin's voice was worried. This wasn't like when Logan was in the hospital, this was terrifying and real and could destroy two of their closest friends.

"She was making breakfast this morning, I had gotten in late last night, hell I wasn't even supposed to get home until this afternoon, but I took an earlier flight home, I had to be there with them. I had a feeling she was going to act up. God, I should've stayed here, I should've been here."

"Hey, Rory is strong and safe, she would've called us if she needed anything, she understood you had to go. But is she okay?"

"I was asleep when I woke up to her screaming, it was a contraction, but she was so small, so hurt. She's on bed rest. Hospital bedrest for the next few weeks, at 38 weeks she can come home but she has to stay in bed. God guys, I've never seen anything scarier. If I would've lost her I don't know what I would do."

"Is…." Finn was scared to ask the next question. "The baby is she okay?"

Logan locked eyes with him for a moment and both boys got a lump in their throat. "If that baby wasn't okay, I'd be sedated right next to Rory. She's okay."

Finn and Colin both breathed a sigh of relief. "Like to cause mischief, huh? Just like her dad."

With that Logan laughed, harder than he should've given the circumstances and where they were standing but the past two hours had taken its toll on him and he finally felt like he could breath, even if just for a moment. "God don't tell Rory that. As if she wasn't scared enough of having a little me running around. Listen guys, I need to head into work, get my things, and get back here. Rory is knocked out, they've moved her to a room on the maternity floor, 689, can you guys stay there and keep her company until I get back? It should be about an hour or so."

"Of course, mate."

Sure enough, true to his word Logan was back in the room after an hour and a half with enough work to last him at least the week. Once he walked into the room he was taken aback. "Guys, what is all of this?"

"Well, you didn't think we would let Love be bored, now did you?" Logan looked around the room and saw that they had somehow brought her more books than physically needed, a poker table, her laptop, a whole dresser for clothes for the both of them, and a whole pantry's worth of snacks and drinks.

"This is great guys, thank you. But I told you guys to stay with her. How did this happen? And how does the poker table benefit her?"

"Well, you didn't think we'd leave her alone, now did you? And as for the how, money is great." Colin winked at him, just as they heard a shriek come from the bed and they all turned to see Rory awake and flustered, Logan ran over to her bed and checked her over.

"Are you okay Ace? Any pain? Can I get you anything? What happened, what's going on?"

"I'm fine, I'm just wondering why Henry is here?" Logan followed where Rory was pointing to see the suit of armor holding balloons that stood at the end of her bed. _How did I miss that when I walked in?_

"Come on, you didn't think Henry wouldn't come with us? He loves the hospital, he was here when Huntzberger was in there too."

"Oh! Boys, I didn't see you. You guys did all this?" She looked at the three of them.

"Don't look at me, it was all these two. They didn't want you to be bored."

"How does the poker table entertain me?"

"Well, you can watch us take your husband for all he's worth?" Colin joked around with her as Logan climbed into bed next to her. Colin noticed the small laugh and smile she gave didn't reach her eyes and he motioned to Finn that they needed to go see if there were any hot nurses on this floor. Once the door was closed Rory turned to Logan with tears in her eyes.

"Is, is the baby okay?"

"She's perfect babe. Just tried to come a little earlier than expected. But she's okay, and you're okay, you just have to stay here for a few weeks."

"Ah, so explains the fact that we're half moved in here?" Logan chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh my god, Logan, you were supposed to sleep in today! I'm so sorry."

Logan looked at her like she was insane. "Are you kidding me right now? I don't care how long I have to stay up, I just care that you guys are okay. God, I don't need sleep that much. Plus, it's good practice for whenever she's here and I have to wake up with her to help."

"As long as she makes it here okay, and healthy, I'll do every feeding with her. I was so damn scared when that pain hit. I didn't know what to do, or what caused it. I could only scream."

"I know and thank god you've got a set of lungs on you, so I could come and rescue you." Logan needed to lighten the mood, so he didn't have to think about the terror he had felt this morning.

"Yes, thank god for my screaming abilities that were able to alert you, so you could be the hero." She rolled her eyes, but she snuggled into his chest as she said it. Just thankful that the pain she experienced wasn't as severe as she originally thought it was.

"I always have loved how well you could scream." His voice was joking but had dropped an octave as he kissed the top of her head.

"Oh god, I'm in a hospital bed, don't work blue."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The next day there was a knock on the hospital door and Logan got up to go answer it before the guest would wake Rory who had just finally got comfortable enough to sleep. As he opened the door he brought his finger up to his lips to show them to be quiet and motioned for them to follow him out to the lobby.

"Hey there, sorry about that. She just finally fell asleep and I really needed her to sleep."

"It's fine, how is she feeling? Any update?"

"Not much, everything is fine which is a huge relief and all, but they just want her to rest and you've met Rory, lounging around isn't exactly her favorite activity. She wants to get up and move, plus she keeps online ordering different things we don't need but I can't just stop her, so, it will be good for her to have visitors who can keep her entertained." Just then Logan's phone buzzed with a text from Rory asking where he was. "And the Sleeping Beauty is up." He started to head back to the room when he stopped and turned. "Why don't you head up? I need to head home for a bit, grab a few things Colin and Finn missed. You don't mind, do you?"

The guest shook his head and dismissed Logan. "Not at all, see you soon." Finally reaching Rory's door they walked in and smiled at her in the bed. "I may not be Logan, but hopefully I'm a worthy substitute for the next few hours while he goes home?"

Rory's face was surprised, and she tried to get up to hug him, but she couldn't. "Dad! Hey there, what are you doing here?!"

"Well kiddo, your husband called me and told me what was going on, still a shock to hear that he's your husband by the way. But he called, told me what was going on, and then I got from Lorelei explaining that she was stuck at the Inn and asked if I could be the parent representation for a few days. How could I miss that chance?"

"Wow, thank you dad." A silence descended on the room when Rory broke it again a few minutes after Chris had found himself a chair and sat down. "Dad, I'm sorry about the wedding. I just wanted to get married so badly, and you were in Paris with Gigi and I really wanted to make Logan my husband, you know lay my claim so to speak." She added the last part as a joke and sent him a wink.

"I understand kid, I mean I guess technically you weren't at my wedding, so I deserved that one huh?"

"Dad—" Rory's voice showed so much guilt after the ending to his question.

"No Rory, it really is okay. I screwed up a lot, I didn't deserve to get to walk you down the aisle, I didn't fight for you enough, I fought for your mom, but not for you and it should have been the other way around. I'm sorry."

"Hey, you were young, it's okay." She offered him a small smile at that, hoping that it was now all water under the bridge.

He offered her a small smile back and broke the tension. "Hey, I'm still young, speaking of, can't believe a grandpa at 38, have we thought of better names than Grandpa?"

"Hmm, gramps, papa, grandfather." She prattled on with a smile.

RLRLRL

Chris had left 3 days later with a promise that he would be back once the baby was born, Rory had finally figured out ways to sleep in an uncomfortable hospital bed, Ambien. Logan figured out to have Finn supervising her when she's on Ambien as she tended to get a little eccentric. After she had tried to recreate Finn's reenactment of Passion of The Christ they had never been more thankful for the invention of the video camera.

Two days before she was supposed to go home to continue out the rest of her bedrest she went into labor again and this time there was nothing she or the doctors decided to do to stop it. She was at a point where the baby should be healthy, so they let the labor progress.

"Ow, ow, ow damn it what the hell is happening to my body. You know when Sookie said the baby was coming around the mountain that was bad enough, but this doesn't feel like a nice Sunday drive. This is just painful—ow, ow, ow, ow, damn it Logan Huntzberger!"

Once the epidural kicked in she was asleep for an hour before she woke up and needed to push, at 5:59 p.m. on January 6th, Charlotte Victoria Huntzberger was born. Rory was a sobbing mess when she heard her daughter's cries and wasn't the least bit surprised to turn to see Logan tearing up as well. It wasn't until they saw her all cleaned up and she was laying on Rory's chest that Logan finally let the tears fall as he stared at the beautiful girl on his wife's chest. She had the darkest brunette he had ever seen that were only matched by the dark brown eyes that matched her father's eyes. Rory kissed her forehead, "Hello Charlie, it's so nice to meet you. I'm your mom and this is your dad." She could hear Logan's sob escape as he reached down to kiss her and stroke her hair. She turned to Logan and started sobbing all over again. "Thank you, Logan, thank you so much!"

"Are you kidding me Ace? Thank you, god you've been incredible with all of this and now you gave me her? Just thank you so much Rory Huntzberger I couldn't imagine my life without you or her in it."

Within the hour she was moved to a new room in the postnatal unit of the hospital for the next two days, only to be met by her mom standing in the room. "Mom!"

"Hey mama! I'm so sorry I wasn't there for the birth, I tried, we all tried to get me out here but flight delays and traffic lights and oh it doesn't matter. Let me see this baby."

Rory gave her baby a small kiss before she handed her over to her mother. "Mom, I know you were worried about the name Lorelei, and we may not have chosen that name, but I hope you'll be happy. Please meet Charlotte Victoria Huntzberger."

Lorelei's face was beaming as she looked down at her granddaughter and cried. "I love it kid."

 **A/N: I have a way I want to continue this story past this, I'll probably make it the next chapter and you guys can let me know if you like the idea.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"CHARLOTTE VICTORIA HUNTZBERGER GET IN HERE NOW!"

Charlie turned to the person next to her, "I got three-named, it's only a matter of time before they find out you were part of it too. Run." As she got the last word out she cringed as they heard the voice yell out again.

"Conrad Logan Huntzberger, don't you dare think about running either."

The almost 18-year-old and 16-year-old slunk into the kitchen of their New York Brownstone with their heads down and their hands in their pockets. Rory shook her head, they both looked just like their dad when they did that. Charlie had stuck with her brown hair- brown eyed look and while the eye color matched her father, they were the shape of her mom's eyes. Always big and doe eyed, and god did they work on her dad. Conrad, however, was blonde-haired, blue- eyed and was well on his way to earning his father's reputation.

"Hey mom. Um, what's going on?" Rory stared at Conrad as he spoke up.

"You're kidding right? Can we discuss what call I got from school today?"

"It was just a joke mom, and Finn's not even yelling at Ophelia for it! Why can't we get away with it?" In true Colin and Finn fashion they began dating sisters, both having kids a few months after Conrad was born, they were the trio of happy accidents to their parents. Rory ran her hand across her face in distress.

"First of all, Finn never yells except for that one time he caught you and her together," what Rory wanted to add was that then Logan yelled, and Colin too, it wasn't until later that night when she reminded him of their almost first time and he groaned. Recognizing exactly what he was up against. "Second of all, how much trouble is James in with Colin?" When both kids remained silent Rory just nodded her head. "Exactly. Come on guys, we had an important meeting today, luckily my part was done by the time I got the call."

"Yes, a call by the Headmaster himself, not just the assistant, well done guys." Logan's voice entered the room, a hint of pride to his tone. Both of the kids turned to each other and shared the same smirk that Logan was known for and Rory possessed.

"Logan!" Rory looked over exasperated. "They turned the whole quad into a carnival, with a damn ferris wheel and everything."

"And a bounce house, that was James' and I's idea." Conrad added as he wiggled his eyebrows while Charlotte and Rory made a grimaced face, Logan reached over and fist bumped him.

"Logan Huntzberger!" Rory once again looked over at her husband with an annoyed expression.

Charlotte leaned over to her brother and whispered, "$100 I can get her to triple name him too." He looked over at his mom's expression and his dad's smirk but the glint of nervousness in his eye, yeah his dad wouldn't push mom that much right? He nodded to confirm the bet and went back to listening to the conversation.

Logan groaned and looked over at the kids sitting there. "Guys, your mom has a point, you can't just throw a carnival, especially the week before finals, make it the week of, so everyone gets a break from the bullshit. Plus, did you guys at least charge for it?"

"Oh of course, James made sure we turned a profit."

"See that honey, our kids are excellent business men and women."

"I can't, I can't believe I'm hearing this. Guys, do I need to be home more? I can step back at the office, or I can work from home completely. I mean you guys are on winter break after next week and I truly am terrified of the damage you four can do then."

"Mom! No! Come on, you guys are home enough as it is, my god I'm not even sure Conrad is fully potty-trained with how much you baby him."

"HEY!" The four blue eyes were now trained on her as Logan spat his scotch back into glass and choked while trying to tell his daughter that was a nice one.

"Okay you know what guys, I clearly need to have a discussion with your father, and maybe with Colin and Finn too and see exactly how to proceed. Rooms, now." The two teens had the decency to pretend to be ashamed as they walked up the stairs to their room. It wasn't until they got to the hall of their room that Charlie lifted her head, "Damn, I thought for sure I could break her—"

"Logan Elias Huntzberger are you kidding me?!"

"Damn! I knew I'd get it, that's $100 for me and a new pair of shoes."

"I didn't agree to the shoes, just the $100 and I should dock it for getting in trouble for your idea in the first place, and for the little insult you pulled down there."

"Or, I can up it to a whole new wardrobe for keeping the exact parameters of your relationship with Ophelia a secret?"

"What's your shoe size again?" Charlie just smirked at her brother as they went to their room.

 _Downstairs_

"Logan, come on, did you have to undermine me like that in front of them?"

"I'm sorry Ace, it's just been such a good day, and their prank was good. I couldn't be that mad at them."

"How good of a day was it?" She looked at him through narrowed eyes, wanting to know how well the meeting she had to leave early from went.

"We got the deal." He said casually as he took a sip of his scotch, but even with his tone casual he couldn't help the grin plastered on his face.

"WE GOT IT?!"

"That we did, we now own HPG, I figured I'd let you do the honor or letting my father know?"

"How does he not know?"

"We did it all privately, and they had lost so much money after the whole scandal came out with the lawsuit from the former secretaries came out that they needed to sell so when they got our offer they didn't have any contingencies."

"Oh my god, we own HPG, you did it babe!"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea to start her own blog and turn it into a whole publication, nor was it me who put up almost her whole trust to invest either, and then we turned it into the new media conglomerate this wasn't just me Ror, this was mostly you, you did this babe." Rory blushed at Logan's words, she wouldn't admit it, but he did have a point. After Mitchum made it clear he wouldn't fix his mistake Shira had caused, the board was tipped off and while it wasn't enough to get him fired it was enough for him to never meet his grandchildren.

"I was thinking we could storm the Hartford mansion like they did at Versailles, what do you think?" Despite the stress of the day she was so happy, she had the upper hand, the higher ground, the final horcrux in her hand.

"I think we're taking away Netflix if I catch you watching the Marie Antoinette movie again there babe."

"Can I finally use the information I gained on torture methods on your parents?" Logan shook his head and smiled at her.

"Or, we can go down Monday morning and kick him out and do a walk of shame?"

"That's so much better!" She leapt into his arms and kissed him hard.

"See, now do you see why I had a hard time disciplining them today? It's such a great day!" He realized that he had opened up the can of worms he had managed to close only 20 minutes ago when he saw her eyes narrow and got down out of his grasp.

"Logan, I know and I'm happy for how it turned out but my god we have to do something!"

"Why?"

"A Ferris Wheel Logan, a damn Ferris Wheel was in the middle of New York City because our kids were bored with final prep."

"And a bounce house, don't forget the bounce house. What a genius idea." Logan shook his head in laughter at his son's proud face he had exhibited earlier when he felt a slap to his chest and he looked down at Rory. "What?!"

"Logan, come on."

"Rory, they're good kids, they're just a little spoiled and a lot creative. They got some of your best qualities, and unfortunately they also got some of my creative ones too."

"Neither one of them make pro-con lists." Rory pointed out, trying to show that they weren't exactly like her.

"I know babe, I said best qualities of yours." For the second time he was smacked on the chest. "I'm just saying, your lists are one of the reasons were losing rainforests, why there's ozone layer problems."

"Nuh-uh I went digital ages ago, plus I always recycle my paper."

"I knew that Yale education taught you something." He teased her as he kissed her deeply again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It was later that evening when they were in bed when they heard a thud from outside their room and a muffled "Shit." From down the hall. Logan went to go investigate before Rory grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back to bed. "Ace, I need to go check that out."

"No, it's fine. It's either Conrad sneaking in or Ophelia sneaking out." She said it with a nonchalant air to her voice that it caught Logan off guard.

"WHAT?! Since when?! And how are you so cool with this?" Logan was now fully out of the bed and pacing.

"Logan, come on. You seriously haven't known? They've been together for months, they think they hide it well, Charlie is in on it too. It's really sweet the way they think they can hide anything quite frankly."

"Wow, Finn might actually go ballistic. But honestly babe, how are you so cool about this? Earlier you were freaking out about the stunt they pulled but now you're completely fine with our son and our goddaughter doing…"

"Oh, look who is the prude now." Rory was teasing him and trying to pull him back to bed. "Logan, like I've said, they've been doing whatever it is their doing for months. I think a few weeks before you guys caught them. Plus, there is a huge difference between two teenagers being friendly, and our kids creating a spectacle in the middle of school and when people are trying to study!"

"Is that why you were so mad about the prank?" Logan's voice finally got rid of the anger as he realized why Rory had been so upset earlier.

"Finals are important Logan! What if someone was really stressed about a test and the smell of funnel cakes distracted them because your children and godchildren decided it would be a fun way to turn a profit."

"There was funnel cakes too?"

"Don't worry, I got us a few. Not the point Logan."

"No, the point is that the whole reason you're mad is because some nerd may not have been able to study."

"The courtyard was right outside the library! I don't care if you call me a nerd, that is just rude." Rory crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Logan climbed next to her in bed and kissed her. "I'm so sorry babe, want me to get you a book to sniff?" He teased her and went to give her a kiss as she turned to face the wall and away from him. "Aaaaccceee come on, it was a joke." She glared at him but conceded and turned back towards him and kissed him. Once they broke away she laid her head on his chest and they stared at the TV that was playing softly in the background. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

"You mean the day where I get to stomp into Mitchum Huntzberger's office and kick him out on his smarmy, good-for-nothing ass? Yes, I am quite ready." She could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest before she drifted off to sleep. Once he heard her breathing even he snuck out of their bed and went downstairs where sure enough Rory had saved him a funnel cake. Just as he was cleaning up the powdered sugar mess he made he heard the backdoor open and saw his son stumble through the back door.

"Good evening Conrad." He watched his son's back stiffen as he turned around to face his dad. "Did you get Ophelia home safely?" The smirk that was once on his son's face was now on his and his son had visibly paled, even if the dim light of the kitchen.

"How did- I mean I wasn't- I just- How did you know?!"

"Your mother."

"How does she?! Oh my god, I'm going to kill Charlotte, I even bought her new shoes to keep quiet."

"It wasn't Charlotte. And as for how your mom knows, I have no idea, it's scary how little you can actually get past her." Both men were quiet for a few minutes when Conrad tried to speak again.

"Dad, I—" But Logan cut him off, not wanting to hear any excuses.

"Listen, I don't know what to say, I just found out about the fact that this has been continuing. I don't need or want to know the specifics about anything, but I have a few rules. 1. Beware of Finn, the man doesn't get angry often but when he does, watch out. 2. The most important, if I find out you treat her with anything other than respect and decorum you will be astounded to see how quickly your mother's anger looks like kittens compared to what I can be like, okay?" Conrad nodded in acknowledgement of his father. "You don't know your grandfather Mitchum for a myriad of reasons and I've tried my damndest to be everything he wasn't but so help me god, if I hear a whisper of you doing anything she is not comfortable with or disrespecting her in anyway you will be shipped off to military school without a dime. I will pay for these pranks, I will pay for a boat sinking or a stunt needing to be built, but I will not stand by someone hurting any girl like that." Logan spoke with such an authority that it made Conrad take a step back. He had never really heard his dad get angry, he was always the free-spirit of the house, the crazy one to their mom's straight lacedness.

"Dad, I promise, I really care about her, I don't know what it is yet, but I do care about her, and not only that but I wouldn't be like that. There's a reason why we don't hang around certain people, or why none of us let Charlie go near certain guys even if she is older than us." Conrad's voice was soft and sincere, and Logan let out a sigh of relief and smiled at his youngest, then turned to leave the room before Conrad called out to him again. "Hey dad? If that is your boardroom voice, it's no wonder you and mom are so successful."

Logan laughed out loud and smiled. "Your mom's voice is scarier, she used it when she was labor and it's why there is only two of you."

RLRLRLRL

Rory was pinning her back at the vanity when Logan came up behind her and hugged her. "God you look beautiful."

"Well thank you. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Logan's voice shows the nervousness he's feeling which isn't something Rory expected, she thought he would be jumping for joy at this, they hadn't talked to anyone on his side of his family but Honor with the exception of the nice pleasantries at society functions to keep up the façade. Once she was done pinning her hair she turns to face him.

"Logan, what's wrong?" She ran her hands up and down his arms and looked him in the eyes. He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"It's just weird, you know? This is the almighty Mitchum Huntzberger and not only that he's my dad Rory. I know he brought this onto himself, but I never thought I'd live to see the day his statue was toppled."

Rory led him to the bed and climbed behind him massaging his shoulders. "Logan, it's okay to feel like that, I don't get it but he's also not my dad so for me there isn't much stakes to this. But for you there is, you're right he is still your dad and he had a firm grip on you for years. But Logan, you didn't do this to him. His terrible behavior, his stubbornness and unwillingness to adapt led to a fall in HPG stocks, and then well the scandal that hit. Not one of those things is your doing. No, your doing is creating an insanely successful, profitable business, being a respectful and charismatic guy inside and outside of the office, building a life and doing it with love and respect and your reaping the rewards of that. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that your father couldn't be the guy you needed him to be, and if you want to let him stay in his position or demote him I'll stand by you. But don't let him guilt you in anyway, okay? Don't let him pull the daddy dearest card on you because you hold the power, and I will be there for you every step of the way." She kissed him on the top of his head. Something he always did for her to calm her down, to show affection, to show he was right there for her always.

"I know Ror, I love you. Come on, let's go do this."

As they left their room and made their way into the kitchen they saw their chef making breakfast for the kids. "Morning Charlotte, morning Conrad. How was your night?" Rory asked as she breezed in. Logan and Charlotte laughed to themselves and Conrad choked on his coffee.

"Um, it was good mom, thanks."

"Guys, your dad and I have to go down to Hartford today. We should be back by this evening we're not done discussing what happened yesterday and I know the two of you are suspended so we decided to drop you off at the Inn. We're meeting up with Finn and Colin and the double mint twins—"

"Rory." Logan cut her off looking over the iPad he was looking at.

"Sorry, sorry, James and Ophelia's moms and we will be discussing everything. Try to stay out of trouble. At least today please?"

"Yeah, wouldn't want anyone's studies disturbed, would we Ror?" Logan teased her from his end of the table while she angrily butted a scone.

"Of course, that's why she's mad at this!" "It was right outside the library!" Realization clicked to both children at the same time as they started laughing to themselves.

"You know, none of you are as cute as you think are by the way." Logan and the kids smiled at her as they all finished their breakfast.

They all piled into the car and began the trek to Hartford where Logan and Rory we're being dropped off first before the town car would take the two kids to the Dragonfly.

"MOR MOR! We're here!"

"Oh my gosh kiddos, look at you! You guys look great, but wait, it's Thursday. Why aren't you in school?"

"Mom didn't tell you?! We created a carnival in the courtyard at school. Complete with funnel cakes and a bouncy house and a Ferris Wheel."

"Funnel cakes?! And you didn't bring me one?"

"Don't worry, after we dropped the parents off in Hartford I called my guy, he's recommended someone around here and we should have a whole funnel cake stand here in about an hour." Lorelei shook her head at Conrad as he explained how he had put it all together. She brought her arms around her two grandkids.

"I love having spoiled grandkids, it's great. Now, why are the Kennedy's in Hartford and why didn't Jacqueline tell me you'd be stopping by here?"

"We're not sure honestly. They've been working on something and anytime we try to ask them about it they say we have to wait until it's all done. Dad seemed a little off this morning, mom was trying to hide a pep in her step. Now, as much as we love you, we really missed Mor For, so can we please go to the diner?"

"Alright, fine I see how it is. It's just because he makes better fries than Sookie, but let's get out of here before she hears that I said that." With that they all snuck out the front door and over to Luke's diner.

RLRLRL

Logan and Rory sat at the coffee shop a block away from the HPG headquarters in Hartford while Logan got his bearings. Rory reached her hand across the table and squeezed it, causing him to look up at her and smile. "Are you ready to go in?" Logan looked at her as he asked this.

"Whenever you are babe." He nodded his head then looked down again into his coffee again.

"Maybe just a few more minutes?"

"How about another cup of coffee for the both of us?" She patted his shoulder as she passed him on her way inside to order. After another cup of coffee for both of them he finally stood up, ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed her hand to help him out. Once they reached the expansive and ornate lobby she could him take a large gulp before he walked over to the older woman at the front desk.

"Hello, I'm here on behalf of CCH Publishing. We just purchased HPG and we have an appointment with Mitchum at noon." The woman behind the desk consulted the calendar on her computer seeing where the appointment was set, she allowed him up to the 15th floor where his father's office stood. Next to his office was an empty office, the office Logan was always supposed to inhabit, the office that Logan refused to ever enter. Suddenly he felt no guilt about what he was about to do, or the path that had led him to this moment. He had never regretted marrying Rory, never regretted their life, their family or walking away. But sometimes he felt guilt, like he was letting down generations before him or not living up to the potential that even Rory could see in him. But then, as she noticed him looking at that office and could see the storm of emotions crossing across his face she squeezed his hand and all those doubts and guilt disappeared as he opened up the door to his father's office.

"Hello! You guys must be the new investors." Mitchum started, but he stopped as soon as he made eye contact with his son again, in a place he never thought he'd ever see him.

"Hello Mitchum. Logan Huntzberger of CCH Publishing, we are here to hand you your termination letter."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Mitchum stared at Logan bewildered, that look was quickly replaced with ire when Logan reached into the briefcase and produced a stack of paper that was the termination notice.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?! I will not be taken from my own damn company. The company at which I will remind you that you wanted no damn part of for years. How many years has it been Logan? How old is your daughter now? You don't get to waltz in here and pretend that you have any power at a Huntzberger corporation. You could have had the power, but you walked away for this thing and your bastard." The words were spat out like a venom and Logan wasn't sure who was comforting who more when him and Rory locked eyes. There was the same anger in both of them and slowly Logan tilted his head from side-to-side to crack his neck and calm himself before he turned back to his father.

"This _thing_ as you call her as been one of the most prolific writers that anyone in media has seen in years, not only that but she's a formidable business partner and she has been my wife for almost as long as I've walked away from the bull shit that is this company. You will never, ever speak of her like that again. As for our daughter, you will be smart to never ever speak of her or our son again. There is a reason we have kept you from them and that will not change, not now, not ever. You will not ever call either one of them anything but Master and Miss Huntzberger. You have not earned the right to call them their names, but the great news is that you will never have the opportunity to be near them in the first place. Do you hear me? Here is the termination, it's clear cut. We've bought you out Mitchum, you have no place here."

One thing Rory had known about Logan over the years is that the anger his father always exhibited that she was damn sure Logan would inherit had stopped manifesting itself once he got away from his father. She thought that this meeting the old Logan would appear, the one that could scream and yell and act out would appear. But instead he kept all of his wits about him even if his hand was flexing and gripping hers a little more than comfortable and his jaw was so set it could cut a diamond. His voice was quiet, with a hint of anger and a threatening tone. It was the scariest tone she had heard from him, and she had been in many tense meetings with him. The two men were locked in a dead stare when Logan set the papers down on the desk and Mitchum finally looked down as the papers slamming on the desk broke the silence.

"This is it Mitchum, times up. You had your fun, you ruled this place with a formidable power but what you forgot about your son is that he's smarter, he's kinder, he's more charming, and he's happy. He didn't have the greed behind him, he learned from his mistakes while you pushed them away and ignored them." Rory pointed at the stack of papers. "This is a more than fair agreement, way more than you deserve that's for damn sure. Because on top of being all of those wonderful things that Logan is, he's also compassionate and he learned how to be selfless. He wanted you guys to be comfortable. Now, you can leave quietly, or I can call my security team to come escort you out. Your choice."

"Listen here, this little stunt means nothing, I will fight this. I've told you before, you don't have what it takes, and I meant it, this is not over. I know what this place can do to a person, you think you have Logan now? I'm sure there's been times where you've been gone, where he's been alone. Men in power are sought after, don't ever forget that."

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" And the old Logan had cracked through, but this time through Rory's voice. "You will not ever, and I do mean ever insinuate what you are. Especially considering one of you here just recently had his name dragged through every tabloid and newspaper possible. What happened Mitchum, couldn't get anyone to respect you anymore after everything came out? Not surprising. Because it was so easy to believe, and once the accusations kept piling up it was to hard to ignore. So, you will not ever speak about him like that." She let Logan take defending her and defending their kids, but she would not stand by while he tried to attack her husband's character like that. "We fixed HPG, we bought you out, so you wouldn't flounder because you were. You couldn't keep up with what had changed, and you almost destroyed this company. He saved your ass. Now, it'd be decent if you had even a modicum of respect for that and you left the premises right fucking now." Logan looked over at his wife who had just defended him and breathed a sigh of thanks as he turned back to Mitchum

Mitchum gathered the contract and started to grab any papers he felt he might need, along with his laptop when Logan spoke up again for the first time in a while. "You may take the termination notice, everything else stays. It's now part of CCH property." Before the door closed behind Mitchum they heard the security guards greet him as they escorted him down. Even if they had said they'd allow him to go quietly neither had actually planned for that. Mitchum's final words were a simple, "This isn't over."

RLRLRL

"Mor For, we're here!"

"Oh Luke! Look who I brought!" They all piled into Luke's Diner as Luke was grumbling about something, but his face lit up when he saw the kids.

"Hey guys! It's so good to see you." Charlie gave him a hug while Conrad nodded his head.

"So, want to tell us why you were Mr. Sourpuss when we walked in?" Charlotte asked over her cup of coffee that he had set down in front of her.

"Just stupid Taylor deciding to bring a funnel cake stand into the town square, if it was anyone else he'd be having a fit but he can decide to drag something like that here and have it planted in the middle of the town square, and why are the three of you laughing?" Half-way though his rant they all started laughing and we're now at the point where they couldn't control it.

"Man! I can't believe they dropped it off here, it was supposed to be at the Dragonfly!" Conrad finally explained after he stopped laughing, now he was a little aggravated.

"Wait, this was you guys who did this? Oh man, have fun answering to Taylor for this one." As if on cue Taylor came barreling through the diner's door.

"LUCAS! Have you seen this monstrosity in the square? Do you know who did this? Have you seen Kirk, I bet he's in charge of this harebrained scheme." Charlotte, Conrad and Lorelei all smirked at each other before Charlotte spoke up.

"Good afternoon Taylor! Oh, it's so good to see you. You know what, I think it was Kirk's idea because he was talking about how we had to restore the bridge again and he wanted to surprise you. He actually contacted us about getting it all set up, we decided that the cakes would be free, but anyone can donate to the cause, people tend to be more charitable when they're getting something free. I'm sorry we didn't get it cleared first but we just wanted to surprise you and Kirk was so excited about it." She had made her voice so angelic it was so much like her mother's and Lorelei and Luke stared at her in awe.

Lorelei felt Conrad nudge her in the side. "Now do you see why we get away with a lot? You should see dad try to reprimand her about anything, it's a lost battle before it even begins."

They turned back in time for Taylor to relent. "Wow, that's a great idea! I should go thank Kirk for his idea, finally that boy is reaching his potential."

"Yes, at the ripe age of…?" Conrad tried to ask but Taylor was already gone. "Oh, come on! I just want to know how old he is! Wait, shouldn't one of us let Kirk in on the whole lie?"

"No, he'll just go along with it thinking he thought of it when he had a night terror, plus he'll be happy Taylor was proud of him." Luke shrugged as he moved away from the table.

About an hour later the group was leaving when Kirk walked in with a confused look on his face but a happy smile and tears in his eyes. "Guys have you seen Lulu? She'll be so happy I had such a good idea!"

Lorelei leaned into Charlie. "That was a nice thing you did there."

"Thanks, I'm sure it's the Rory in me."

"Mhm, I'm sure it's a little bit of Logan in you too."

RLRLRL

Two hours later Logan and Rory walked in to the Luke and Lorelei's house where she found her kids and her mom we're sitting around watching a movie in the new movie room that had been a Christmas present last year from Luke to Lorelei. The table they were sitting at was covered in different flavors and variations of the funnel cakes from the square. They all looked up at Rory and Logan who looked like he was in a daze but couldn't help the smile that was playing on his face. "Hello kids, may I ask how much I'm paying for the funnel cakes that are in the square?"

"Now, Logan, don't be to mad. Charlie did a really good thing here with it and Conrad started it because he just loves me so much he wanted me to have them and he's just such a good grandson who wanted to make me happy. You can't be to mad at him for that."

"Oh no, we have plenty of other things we can get mad at him for though, don't we buddy?" Rory looked over at her kids. "Still haven't forgotten."

"You know mom, it's been so long since the infraction you might as well just wash this one under the bridge, punish us extra for the next time we interrupt finals okay?"

"They told me what they did, I personally think it's fun and you need to lighten up." Lorelei shrugged her shoulders at Rory.

"See, Ace!"

"Okay, as fun as this 'Gang up on Rory' hour is, mom can I talk to you in the kitchen?"

They both left and sat down at the kitchen table when Rory pulled out the emergency stash of ice cream that they had hidden in the back of the freezer. "Wow, this must be a serious conversation if you're pulling out the big guns."

"We fired Mitchum today." Rory said just as Lorelei was taking a bite out of the ice cream, causing her to choke for a minute.

"Wow, first of all, let's wait until mommy is done swallowing before we tell her big news."

"Dirty."

"Thank you. Secondly, wow. I mean holy shit wow. How is Logan handling it? Is he okay? Is that why you guys were in Hartford? How did you even do it?"

"We bought out HPG." She said it very casually leaving Lorelei to take a deep breath and sink back in her chair.

"Dear god, how rich are you guys?" They never talked about it, everyone having more than enough to be comfortable, plus Lorelei had a reaped the rewards for years as evidenced by the handbag collection and shoe collection Luke would occasionally stubble over in the dark when he had to open the diner early.

"It's not even that, they weren't nearly as powerful as they have been in the past, it was an easy over throw honestly. But Logan, he's taking it hard. He collapsed into his dad's chair after Mitchum was thrown out."

 _Flashback to after Mitchum walked out_

 _Logan sat down and looked around the room, looked at the view over Hartford he now had, the one that his father had for years. "This isn't even worth it." He had mumbled, just barely enough for Rory to hear him._

" _Not worth what babe?"_

" _Losing a family over. This view, this office, it's such bullshit. It's all hollow, I mean we have money in the account, we have a roof, I have a killer view of freaking New York of all places. I didn't have to give anything up, I mean sure there were many nights where I worked to much, or a few business trips I wish I hadn't taken but there was never a moment I wasn't thinking about why I was doing it. But look around Rory. There's not a single damn picture of us, nothing of Honor and Josh and Connor, no personal affect at all. We weren't apart of his life at all. And for what?! FOR THIS FUCKING VIEW?! I have a better view both inside and outside of the office. Why, why did he have no problem throwing us to the side for truly what amounts to nothing at the end of this?"_

" _I don't have an answer for you, I wish I did. God, I did, if I could I would make it better Logan but there's no reason for how he behaved." Rory had now made her way over to where he was sitting, this office didn't fit him, it seemed so cold compared to their actual office in New York. Suddenly he was out of the chair slamming it against the wall and making Rory jump._

" _I want this place torn to shreds, do you hear me? I want construction crews through here by the end of this week. We'll change this place up. But I refuse to have his office stay the same. Get our assistants over here this week and have all of the files scanned in and then I want it destroyed. Do you hear me?" He looked over to Rory after his rant and noticed her wide eyes. "Oh god, I'm sorry. I just got overwhelmed." He could feel her breath return to normal._

" _It's okay Logan, sorry, I just wasn't expecting the outburst, are you okay?"_

 _Logan started to nod before he saw a paper weight on his father's, no, it wasn't his father's desk anymore, he saw the paperweight on the desk and threw it through the glass by the door that had Mitchum Huntzberger's name on it, effectively getting rid of the ownership. He was thankful the floor was free of people. He felt Rory's hand on his shoulder. "Hey, why don't we get out of here. I'll call the construction crews, I'll make sure everything is set up. Why don't we go to Stars Hollow, make sure it's still standing, okay?" This time Logan nodded, and they made their way out of the office._

 _End of Flashback_

Lorelei's eyes had been permanently wide throughout the whole story as Rory had explained everything before finally letting out a deep breath.

"Mom, there's one more thing."

"Oh are you pregnant?!" This time it was Rory's turn for her eyes to go wide.

"Bite your tongue, that's not a funny joke. No, Logan needs to get away, the boy's, their wives—"

"God they're the worst."

"I know but oh well, and us were going to go to Vail for a little bit. Frankly I suggested bringing the kids with and making them sit in the suite the whole time, but Logan said that was to mean. I know they don't need a babysitter, but would you mind just having them here for a few days. We're just going for a few days to blow off some steam and hopefully Logan will be in a better frame of mind to enter the HPG offices next weekend. I just don't want to leave the kids home alone."

"Of course, they can stay here."

"Thanks mom." Lorelei went to go see the kids again and on the way she passed Logan in the hall where she enveloped him in a huge hug.

"You did the right thing kid. You're a great guy better than you give yourself credit for."

"Thanks Lore, so much."

"So, I hear the rugrats are staying with me for a few days?"

"You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! Conrad spoils me rotten." She smiled at him as she made her way back to the movie room. Once she made sure Rory and Logan couldn't hear she started talking. "So, your mom and dad are going out of town and you're supposed to stay here and be on your best behavior. Doesn't mean your best behavior is that good anyway." She winked at them as they went back to watching the movie.

Logan came in to the kitchen and sat down next to Rory. "I've already talked to Finn and Colin, they'll meet us in Vail tomorrow. We can go at anytime."

Logan pulled her close to him as she finished talking. "Thank you for being there for me with all of this."

"Thank you for not running to Vegas without me this time."

"We promised we forgot about that."

She looked up at him and smirked. "What can I say, I lied."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23- The Big One**

They boarded the plane at a little past eight p.m. that night, and before they even had a chance to talk to Colin and Finn about what had happened the night before, Logan's head was settled in Rory's lap as she ran her fingers through his hair with one hand and made sure everything was set up for the HPG offices while they were gone with the other hand. Colin and Finn walked in with Cassandra and Stacey on their arms and they looked quizzically over at a very passed out Logan. Rory mouthed to them that she would text them, not wanting to disturb Logan anymore. She knew that this day had taken a lot of him but this level of defeatedness was something completely new.

 _New group message: Rory, Colin, and Finn_

 _R: This HPG take over was emotional to say the least._

 _C: Is he okay?_

 _F: We have scotch?_

 _R: No, I don't think that will be necessary, this trip, however, is very much needed. Thanks, you guys for coming out at the last minute. Ophelia and James okay?_

 _C: James is grounded, but god that means nothing._

 _F: She's good. She seemed happy to get us out of the house, can't say I blame her. Stacey's been smoking again._

With that last message Rory sent a sympathetic smile his way and Colin gave him a pat on his shoulder. He had heard about the issues going on, being married to Finn's wife sister had made sure that he found out every minor and major infraction Finn carried out.

The rest of the plane ride was spent with Rory, Colin and Finn doing work, while Logan slept, and Stacey and Cassandra gossiped and talked in the back. When the plane touched down Rory gently nudged Logan awake and they got into the waiting limo that was to take them to their hotel, she expected him to pass out and continue sleeping off the emotional duress of the day but instead he stopped her before they made it to the lobby.

"Hey, thank you for all of this, seriously Ace. It means the world to me that you'd do this." He kissed her nose which was turning red from the December chill in the air."

"Of course, babe. Ready to get checked in and then head upstairs?" She said it seductively until she saw the boyish grin on his face and noticed he put his hands in his pockets, something he only ever did when he wanted something he wasn't sure she'd agree with. "Cut the innocent act Huntzberger, what do you want?"

"Can I go with the guys to the bar?"

She laughed suddenly. "Logan Huntzberger, you are in your forties, did you seriously just ask your wife if you could go play with your friends? Something you do all the time at home might I add?"

"Well, I just didn't want you to think I was abandoning you."

"Oh, for the love of… go! Get out of here. Be smart, take a driver or a cab or something, and please make sure the boys behave. I love you, I'll get us checked in." She gave him a kiss as she turned away from him, just in time to see Finn and Stacey end the fight they were embroiled in. They might not be her favorite people in the world, but she did feel for Stacey. Finn's heart wasn't in it and she could tell, and it seemed Stacey's wasn't either. Instead of getting them checked in, she went over to the beautiful red-head and put her arm around her. "Why don't we go get Cassie and we go get a drink at a bar, and a few spa treatments?"

Stacey gave her a half smile, "That's sweet Rory, thank you, but I don't think the spa is open." Rory waved her hand as if to say give me a break and then she walked over to the front desk.

Within a few moments she was back, and Cassie had now joined the group. "Well, we're in. Anything we want, we have the place to ourselves tonight. The only stipulation is that I pay for everything. It's my fault we all dropped everything to come out here. It's the least I can do." The two other women shared a small but tense smile and finally turned back towards Rory and agreed.

A few hours later the three women had decided to forgo the bar and ordered more room service than necessary and were piled on the couch in Rory and Logan's suite. "Listen Stace, I know that you and Finn are having issues, and I know that Finn isn't exactly easy to deal with, but I know he loves you and Ophelia."

"I know, and he does love her more than anything I've ever seen. But he doesn't love me enough, not as much as he should." Rory grabbed her hand as Cassandra wrapped her sister in a hug. Finally, after a few moments, and a bit of liquid courage Stacey spoke again. "Rory, why are you being nice to us? You don't like us. In the sixteen years of us knowing each other this is the most we've actually talked."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I don't know why I didn't like you, I just know that I didn't try to like you and for that I'm really sorry. Our kids are best friends, our husbands are inseparable to the point of delusion at some points, and I'm really sorry I built up a wall between us."

"Is it because we don't work?" Cassie finally spoke up.

"God no! I think I just got protective because those were my boys, and then the babies happened, and I had such a hard time after Conrad's birth and just being overwhelmed by it all and I started to worry you guys were taking advantage of Colin and Finn and then with everything going on I refused to see any differently. I'm really sorry." Rory meant every word, she had been selfish, and shallow, and refused to ever admit her fault where her practically sisters-in-law were concerned.

"It's okay. Up until a few hours ago, we were calling you a stuck-up bitch." Cassie once again spoke, with a smile on her face. Making Rory and Stacey laugh, just as the suite door opened to show the boys walking in laughing. Logan took in the scene in front of him and smiled as Rory got up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Logan, I love you, you smell like a distillery, let's get you in the shower."

"And you smell like a candy factory." He whispered in her ear and then he paused. "And like a spa, I thought they were closed?"

"Excuse me, I'm a Huntzberger." She winked at him and he threw her over his shoulder and smirked back at the rest of the group.

Colin rolled his eyes, "Well, if that isn't our cue to leave." He stopped when he heard the shower start from the master bedroom of the suite. "Then that certainly is."

RLRLRL

The next day Charlotte was sitting in the Dragonfly offices while she was helping Lorelei with inventory when she felt her phone buzz with a new text from Ophelia. _"The suspense is killing me! Did you get in?"_

" _Get in what Phi?"_

" _Um, hello, early acceptance letters. You haven't gotten yours yet?"_

Charlie dropped her phone and started pacing, in all of the craziness of the prank, the impromptu trip to Stars Hollow, and then her parent's unusual departure to Colorado she had forgotten completely about what she had been silently stressing out about for months. She thought quickly, she could try to find Lorelei, or Conrad and explain that she had to get home, but there wasn't enough time. She quickly jotted a note down that explained that she was really sorry, but she had to get back to New York and she'd call that evening. A few more quickly typed out messages and before she knew it she was in the air in the family's helicopter and on the way to New York. Technically this wasn't an emergency that would require a use for the over the top transportation, but she knew she'd be a wreck if she just had to sit and wait for the car to take her all the way home.

As she walked up to her families house she opened the mailbox to see something she imagined her mom saw all those years ago. Big, giant envelopes that were busting out, trying to make themselves known. She gathered them all up and bounded her way into the house before throwing them all on the table letting the weight of what was staring in front of her sink in.

She had been sitting there for hours when she heard three people walk into the house, but she didn't fully register what was happening or who it was until she heard a voice right in front of her. "Guys! She's in here!"

"Charlie, what are you—" Lorelei stopped, and Luke slammed into her back.

"Lorelei, a little warning next time." And then he followed his wife and his grandson's eyes as he looked at the table. "Should we call your parents?"

"NO!" Charlotte spoke for the first time and the volume and tone of her voice made everyone jump. "Sorry, but no. I didn't fully um, tell them where I was applying." And that's when Lorelei saw it, hidden underneath the Yale envelope was one that made her breath catch. Harvard, written in big bold letters, and right next to that Oxford.

Lorelei sank in the chair next to her granddaughter and put her arm around her. "Looks like you're the biggest virgin in town." Conrad laughed loudly, Luke looked grossed out and Charlotte looked affronted by Lorelei's statement. "What? Tell me you've seen the video?" Everyone shook their head and that's when Lorelei pulled out her phone and showed Conrad and Charlotte their mother's most embarrassing moment caught on C-SPAN.

"Wait a minute! That's aunt Paris?! Oh man, she always has been this neurotic, hasn't she?"

"Oh, the Paris you know is actually tame compared to how she was." Lorelei looked over at Charlotte. "This was the night we found out she got into Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Do you know how we picked Yale? Pro/ con lists. Yale won by a mile. And I was so against it, I wanted Harvard for her, break out of the Gilmore mold, but Yale was an amazing experience for her. She met your dad, had you guys, received a wonderful education and experienced a life she wouldn't have had if she just blindly followed the plan and went to Harvard. I'm sure she would've met someone wonderful, and gotten a great education, but she wouldn't have you guys, and she wouldn't have fallen in love like she did with your dad. So, what I'm saying is, maybe the pro/con list isn't a bad idea? Don't box yourself in, kid."

"Yeah, but Yale is Yale. It's Grandpa Richard's pride, it's mom and dad's school, the Bulldog chant is bellowed when Uncle Finn gets a little to drunk, it's what I was raised on." She sounded so conflicted as she looked at the unopened envelopes in front of her.

"And, if Yale is the right choice, then that's where you'll go."

As the women were having this heart-to-heart Conrad and Luke had slipped out and Conrad texted Logan. _"Hey dad, I think you and mom should get home. Sorry to cut your trip short but I think Charlie needs you guys."_

RLRLRL

Logan read the text message and his heart stopped and his face paled. Rory came up next to him and looked over his shoulder at the message and her expression quickly matched his. "Hey guys, sorry to do this to you but Rory and I have to leave."

"Mate, what's going on? Trouble with the HPG takeover?" Logan had filled Colin and Finn in on the whole thing the night before and then had promptly forgot about it all day today as the boys had spent the morning skiing.

"God, I wish that was it." Logan mumbled as he saw Rory still standing there.

"Oh my god, she's pregnant." Rory finally burst out.

"WHAT?!" Everyone in the room stared at her as her eyes went wide and she faced Logan.

"What if that's why Charlie needs us? What if she's pregnant? Oh my god, I need to sit down. I need to breathe."

"CHARLIE? Little Charlie? The one who I watched grow up and take her first steps and whose first word was Finn, that little Charlie?" Finn was shrieking at this point.

"Her first word wasn't Finn, it was mama." Colin shook his head.

Logan was about to put an end to the fighting when his phone chimed again, and everyone stared at him as he read the new message from Conrad. _"It's not a bad thing, or an emergency. She just needs some guidance and Mor Mor is making jokes about her being the biggest virgin in town."_ Everyone let out a sigh of relief and suddenly Rory gasped again.

"Good lord love, can you stop that?!"

Rory started jumping up and down and screaming before she grabbed Logan's arms and tried to get him to jump up and down too. "COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE LETTERS! Oh my god! She got in!"

"Do you really think that's it?!" Logan was now beaming.

"Of course! It has to be, that's why mom keeps making jokes about the virginity thing. I can't believe I forgot about it, with all the stuff that's been going on. I can't believe it completely slipped my mind that she applied for early acceptance. AHHHH!" Rory rushed out as she screamed and jumped again and then started packing quickly.

"What does being a virgin have to do with anything?" Cassie asked the question that was on everyone else's mind.

Rory snapped her head around quickly and spoke just as quick. "Nothing!"

Everyone smirked at her and Logan strode over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. "Ace, come on, what is it?"

"I told you! It's nothing, now pack or you're not going, and we can't hear the good news!"

"Fine, I bet Conrad knows." With that Logan shot a text asking if he knew why the virgin reference, and within a few moments Logan was opening a link that would provide endless entertainment for the whole group for the plane ride home.

RLRLRL

It was a little past midnight when Logan and Rory walked into their home to see a sleeping Luke and Lorelei on the couch. "Mom." Rory nudged Lorelei awake. "Mom, I'm here. Conrad texted us and said we should get home. Thanks for showing them the Paris meltdown by the way."

"Anytime kiddo." She nudged Luke awake and they decided to make the trek back to Stars Hollow, much to Logan and Rory's protest. As they said their goodbyes they made their way up the stairs they stopped at Conrad's room only to find it empty, prompting Logan to roll his eyes and Rory to stifle a laugh.

"Well, we know which one of our kids isn't getting into Harvard." Logan joked, and Rory's laugh turned into a glare and she made their way down to their daughter's room. Her door was barely opened, and her desk lamp lights flooded the room. Peeking in they saw her slumped over her desk asleep and they went in to go check on her when they saw one paper boasting the headline Yale Pro/Con.

Logan watched as Rory did a happy dance at her decision making process being passed down to her daughter as she started mouthing 'I win, I win, I win!' to Logan who shook his head and laughed to himself before he turned back to his sleeping daughter and the stack of paper and then he stopped Rory with his hand on her arm. He silently pointed down to the papers, it was easy to ignore the other papers when he first walked in. He just saw Yale and got so excited, but then he saw the paper underneath it and an empty, opened envelope sitting on top of the trash can next to her desk. When he saw that Rory had noticed it he pulled her out of the room before she could shriek. He dragged her upstairs covering her mouth with his hand until they closed the door to their master bedroom. Once he let go of her mouth she shrieked.

"HARVARD? OXFORD?! Did you know she applied there?!"

Logan shook his head. "Ace, I had no idea. I knew she applied other places besides Yale. I know she told us not to put in a good word for her or make any donations to Yale in her name because she wanted to work to get in. But, I didn't know she had applied to all those other places. I didn't think she would want to leave us and go all the way to London." Logan's voice trailed off as he said the last thing.

"Oxford. I can't believe it." Rory was so quiet, and ten minutes later a huge smile broke out across her face. "Logan? Our baby did it. She got in!"

Logan took a beat before his smile matched hers. "She got in! Oh my god Rory, she got in! She got the big envelopes!"

And with that the two parents were jumping up and down again. "And, she used my pro/con lists!"

"So not the point right now babe." With that he kissed her hard and led her back to the bed.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Charlotte walked into her kitchen the next morning with a crick in her neck and a migraine pulsing through her head. She plopped down onto one of the stools at the kitchen island after grabbing coffee and a pop tart, knowing that if Lorelei had spent the night she wouldn't be up for hours. What she wasn't expecting, but wasn't 100 percent shocked by was her dad walking in a few minutes after she settled in.

"Morning kiddo." Logan looked over at his daughter and had more questions than he thought possible flying through his head, but she had that same look on her face that Rory got, the one that let everyone know she was still mulling over where life had taken her, and she needed the quiet time to sort it out.

"Hey dad, weren't you supposed to be not here?"

"Well, how could I stay away from such a warm house like this one." He playfully gave her shoulder a nudge as he passed.

"Sorry, it's just last I heard, you guys were staying for a few days and we were under the watchful eye of the ever-mature Lorelei." She smirked the same way her dad at that statement. She wanted to ask what he knew and why he was home, but she didn't want him knowing she had something on her mind.

"Oh, you know your mom and I needed to get home to work on the new company we acquired." He was being just as evasive as she was and they both knew it. Suddenly Rory entered the room and immediately went to the coffee pot.

"Hey babe, your dad and I want to sit down and talk to you about something this afternoon. Okay?"

"Wait, Ace, I thought that was something that we'd let—" Logan whipped his head around to talk to his wife as she quickly shook her head no at him, cutting him off.

"No, no, the big family meeting."

"Oh yeah, the big family meeting."

"Hi! Still here, is Conrad going to be there too or is it just me?" They both turned to her as if forgetting that she could hear everything.

"No, he needs to be there too. Can you text him and let him know? I'm pretty sure if I do it he'll panic and think he's in trouble."

"Mom, why would he get in trouble, he's just in his room sleeping." She tried the innocent voice on Rory before earning a glare.

"We know he's not, just let him know that at noon I expect everyone in the office at noon, okay? And then we can all go out to lunch."

RLRLRLRL

The two kids were sitting in the office at 5 till noon and both were biting their bottom lip in worry. "Did you tell them about me and Ophelia? Dad said mom knew, he said it wasn't you but was he just covering for you?"

"No, no of course not. You didn't tell them about the college thing, did you?" Charlotte asked in retaliation.

"No, of course not." He knew he shouldn't have lied but his dad had stopped him earlier and said that they were waiting for Charlotte to come talk to them about it all and that they wouldn't push her. Charlotte just nodded at his answer while she took to wringing her hands.

Rory and Logan stood outside the door watching them and smirking at each other. "Hey, maybe if we stay out here for longer we can hear them confess about other things?"

"Logan are you aware of the inner workings of teenage things, there are some things we can't unlearn."

Suddenly they heard Charlie's voice again. "You didn't tell them about Henry and me, did you?" Rory turned to look at Logan who immediately had his face crinkled up in disgust.

"Yeah, let's get in there and tell them, and then we're going to go buy the memory eraser from Men in Black." Rory rolled her eyes as she followed Logan in and they sat across from their kids who were incredibly fidgety.

"Ace, these are some guilty faces if I've ever seen them." Logan smirked at his kids.

"I know! I feel like we may not be the only ones with news to share. Anything you two want to get off your chest?"

"No!" They both answered a little to quickly.

"Fine, fine, we won't pry right now. But there is a reason we wanted to talk to you guys." Rory started, knowing that this was still going to be a lot on Logan. "You guys know Mitchum right?"

"Our technically grandpa?"

Rory sighed at Conrad's phrasing. "Yeah, your technically grandpa." She had Logan both squeezed each other's hand at the same time. "Well, we all know what happened in the news with him, which unfortunately you guys got bothered about because of your last name, well HPG took a huge hit when all of that happened."

"How that still didn't smoosh that men into oblivion I'll never know." Logan interjected more to himself but in the quiet of the office it was very easily heard. He didn't realize until he heard Rory stop talking and looked up to see them all looking at him. "Sorry…"

"Well, they took a pretty big hit, and we decided it was time to acquire them. It was a big decision, and it caused a bit of a dustup. Not only that but we will have a good amount of work to do in Hartford working on the offices."

"Are we moving there?" Charlotte looked worried as she asked. It didn't matter that she was getting ready to move out, New York was still their home.

"No, your dad and I just will have to oversee some big changes over there."

"What do you mean a dust up?"

"What she means is that we had to let Mitchum go. One, a man like him shouldn't have power. Two, it was his time to leave, he wouldn't have respected our decisions, so we had to let him go. Now, you guys don't really know him and I'm incredibly thankful for that but he's not a nice or good guy. I don't trust that he'll go quietly or calmly. I'm not saying he'll pull a crazy Nanny Carrie or something and try to kidnap you guys, but I just want you to be careful."

"Wait, is that why you guys came back early? We would've been fine; you guys should know that. You think that Luke would have let anything happen?"

Conrad, Logan and Rory all looked at each other quickly after Charlotte's question. "Yeah kiddo, that's why we came home early. Your mom is just a worry wart."

"Wait, we bought HPG, one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world?" Conrad asked once the news finally sunk in.

"It appears that way from the outside, but they're actually not, they were struggling to tread water honestly. It felt right to bring into our fold and do something good with it. It was supposed to be mine growing up anyway and a part of me felt weird seeing it go anywhere else if I'm being honest."

"But still, we bought it?!"

"You know Conrad, I know that you eventually do want to follow in our footsteps, but you do realize you aren't on the board or putting forth any money into this company, right?" Rory asked cheekily when she finally realized he kept using the term we.

"Okay fine, CCH Publishing, which I'm technically part of the namesake for anyhow, bought out HPG. God, someone is picky about the semantics today aren't we mom?"

"I'm going to let your sarcasm slide today, but yes, CCH bought it."

"Wow, just how rich are we?!"

"Again, with the we, and Lorelei asked the same thing." Rory said while shaking her head at her son.

"So, are WE excused, I have a headache and I would like to lay down." Conrad asked as he was getting up.

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Huh, when I was tired I just said I had particularly grueling workout that morning." Logan said while smirking. Conrad left the room with a grunt of acknowledgement. Logan and Rory started to stand up before Charlotte quietly asked them to sit down. "Everything okay?"

"Um, well, I sort of got my college acceptance letters yesterday." They both sucked in their breath, they had seen the letters, they had known, but it doesn't mean they were ready to hear this. "I applied a few other places other than Yale, I know that we didn't talk about it, but I did." Her voice got smaller and she refused to make eye contact with her parents.

"That's okay, I was originally only supposed to apply to Harvard and when I applied elsewhere mor mor lost her mind, but it was something I had to do."

"And really, I only applied to Yale but that was because it was what I had to do, I didn't have a choice. You have a choice Charlie. Where did you get in?"

They heard her take a deep breath and she finally looked up at them. "Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Oxford."

It didn't matter that they knew, it didn't matter that they had processed this information for more than 12 hours at this point, what mattered is that their daughter who had been working her butt off for years, whose very existence had made them a stronger team, who made them parents in the first place at a relatively young age, was sitting there with an enviable accomplishment up her sleeve. She had done it, she had worked so hard to prove she could, and it had paid off. Rory started crying immediately, and Logan quickly stood up to giver her a hug. "Uh, dad, is mom okay?" Charlotte pointed to a blubbering Rory in the background.

"We're just very proud of you, you know, that right?"

"You guys aren't mad? I know we talked about Yale but…"

"But you weren't sure. College is about finding yourself, if you think that you can find yourself in Boston well then at least Grandpa Chris can check in on you. If you think New Haven is worth it then great, we're a quick car ride away, and lord help us, if you think England is a good choice I will get on the jet at the first sign of a crisis." Logan was still hugging her as he tried to reassure her, while Rory was still crying. "Ignore her, she's just emotional, she was even nice to the double mint twins on the trip."

"Did you check her bags for the good stuff?"

"Charlotte Victoria Huntzberger! And yes, I did. Nothing." Logan tsked his tongue as he shook his head.

"Hey, what if I pick Princeton? You didn't mention how I'd be okay there."

"Princeton's freaking filthy." Rory finally spoke up from the corner, causing Charlotte and Logan to look over at her with questioning glances. Rory came over and grabbed Charlotte into a hug. "What, they may only have like 2 people cleaning the campus. Yale boasts about their cleaning staff."

"Didn't stop us from making that campus dirty." Logan smirked at Rory.

Charlotte quickly let go of her mom, "Oh look, and that's my cue to leave. It seems like I have some decision making to do." She quickly exited the room as she ran up the stairs.

RLRLRL

Later that night Rory knocked on her door and entered with 2 cups of coffee. "Hey, you know we're insanely proud of you, right?"

"I feel like no matter where I'm picking it's going to be wrong."

"You've known for 24 hours that any of these choices were a possibility. You're not going to have an answer now and that is frustrating and annoying when you're a planner like me. And while you get some great qualities from your dad, and you can easily let loose and be relaxed, I know that you like to have things planned out to some degree. And this is a big decision, I'd be more worried if you didn't have to think about this. It's not just some random schools you have to pick from, they are all great schools. With unbelievable reputations and great opportunities. This should take time, but I also don't want you holing yourself up in your room tonight, take the evening off. Get dressed up, go be hip, and cool, call Henry. Just take a night to decompress from this, okay?"

"Wait, how do you know about—"

"It doesn't matter, just go." Rory gave her a kiss on her forehead as she walked out, before she said one more thing. "For what it's worth, your father spent a good amount of time in London and loved it, and it's probably one of the best Christmases I've ever had."

As she shut the door she let out a huge sigh, how had she just told her daughter that England would be a good choice? Then she remembered, the pros filled that list more than the others, triple what Princeton boasted, almost double what Yale had, the only one that came close was Harvard. She made her way back down to the movie room and got settled in for the night after she grabbed the ice cream and candy, along with a bottle of wine. Logan came in a few hours after the first movie was done and found her watching Casablanca. He sat down next to her and brought her head into his lap.

"Oxford is winning babe. It's winning and she's going to go and the only thing I can do is tell her I love her and pray to God she loves it there." Her voice broke at the end of it as he stroked her hair.

"It's the right thing Rory. It doesn't seem like it, and I'm not exactly on board with it either, but there have been so many things you or I have had to do for ourselves and yes, some of them burned, but others ended up okay."

"But it's a whole other country Logan."

"I know, but we still have Conrad."

"That's not helping at all."

"Good point." Logan laughed to himself.

"Oh no." Rory suddenly shot up off of his lap.

"What, what's wrong ace?"

"Which one of us is going to tell Colin and Finn?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It was two weeks later when they finally felt their world shift to normal. Between construction crews in Hartford, the actual business besides the new acquisition, and the lists their daughter was making, the whole Huntzberger family kept feeling like their feet were falling out from under them. But now, here they were, well almost all of them, on Christmas Eve sitting in the movie room while Miracle at 34th street was playing in the background.

Charlie had not yet announced her final decision but anyone who saw her knew, they knew the moment she had picked because they could see the weight of the decision lift off of her and a new one settle on top of her. When they could see the final decision made Rory had snuck a peak at her lists and saw that Oxford was circled. What no one but Logan knew was that she spent that whole night sobbing into his chest and looking at baby pictures she had stored away. However, the next day she was back up to her normal self, not letting anyone know how she felt to as not influence any decision and she had decided to create a surprise for her daughter. That was when Logan walked into the movie room and paused the movie, alerting everyone to his presence.

"Is it done?" Rory asked while Logan just nodded. The kids watched as Rory inhaled a deep breath and shook her head.

"Is this where she finally cracks and leads us to a firing squad?" Conrad stage whispered to his sister.

"Yes, and there's a line. Damn." Rory dead panned, causing Logan to smirk at her, as she got up and motioned for them to follow her up to Charlie's room. When Logan opened the door, Charlie gasped, and Rory teared up again. There, on the wall immediately above her desk was an Oxford wall. But the most unexpected response was that of Conrad's as he took in the scene in front of him.

"No."

"Conrad—"

"NO! NO! You're not moving to fucking England." His voice started getting louder as he paced around.

"Conrad, come on." Logan was looking at his son as he got mad, recognizing the same pain and anger in his eyes.

"Come on what?! She's just allowed to leave? No discussion, no Full House heart-to-heart where we convince her that family is all we need, and she can go to NYU or Yale? Why not Yale?" He was grasping for straws and they knew it but he didn't know what else to do.

"Conrad, stop! This is where I want to go, this is ridiculous stop acting like a spoiled brat and just accept the fact that I want to go there. Get over your damn self now."

"You know what, fuck all of this, I'm done. You want to go, you want to leave your friends and your life and just bolt? Fine? Finally running away from the Henry situation huh?" Charlie's eyes went wide.

"CONRAD!"

"NO! Stop! You don't get to play some moral high ground right now. I'm leaving, I'm done with this conversation." Logan and Rory had been watching the argument from the sidelines until they watched Conrad stomp away through the open door.

"Conrad! Stop! This is Christmas Eve, you're not leaving this house, there's a blizzard out there."

"Why don't you take some of those damn motherly instincts and point them at your screwup daughter in there who is just running from her problems!" Conrad was halfway down the steps as him and Rory started yelling at each other with Logan following close behind.

"You don't get to talk to your mom like that! This isn't your decision Conrad, and when the time comes to pick a college you will get to chose too and we won't stand in your way. You think we like the fact that she's leaving? You think we're happy about the fact that this is all going down and on Christmas Eve like this? No! But your sister accomplished something great, so that is what we're focusing on, not your terrible behavior because you're losing your scheming buddy. Now, you can go—"

"LOGAN!"

"You can go, you can take a breath and think about the fact that you have acted horrendously to not only your sister but your mother too. I expect you to check in with me, a text, or something, but I want some confirmation that you're okay. But so help me god, if you are not sitting around that damn Christmas tree tomorrow morning in the horrendous pajamas your mom got you with a smile firmly planted on your face you will be in a new amount of trouble. Now go, before I change your mind."

"Logan…"

"Rory, let him go." But before he could finish they heard the door slam and Rory rolled her eyes. "I know, but what do you want? Him breaking into our liquor cabinet or Colin or Finn's?"

"Logan! Be serious for a second."

"I am. He's pissed, hell, I'm pissed. You think I liked doing that for her? You think I'm okay with this situation? I'm happy for her, I'm proud of her, doesn't mean I'm okay with this." They spoke in whispers, trying to make sure she couldn't hear too much.

"I know, I get it. But we promised, we promised not to make them follow the destiny you were forced into or have the guilt trips my mom would force on me. We promised it wouldn't happen."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it Rory. And I'm not my father, I'm not acting like she's a disappointment or some other bullshit. Don't put that on me." Logan said as he walked down the stairs and back to the movie room to see the final credits of the movie playing in the background. He grabbed the remote and shut it off, before sitting down on the oversized sectional and throwing his head back in exhaustion.

He heard the door open a few minutes later and he sighed. "Rory, I can't go another round with you."

Charlie took a step back, she didn't hear her parents argue that often, certainly not enough to hear this tone in regard to her mom. "It's not mom." He sat up at the sound of her voice and she motioned to the seat next to him, and he nodded his head in response. "I'm sorry."

Logan steeled his jaw as he thought about what to say next. "There's nothing to be sorry about, we're not mad at you. But it doesn't mean we have to like this Charlie. And I don't know what the Henry situation is, but I don't really like the thought of you running away from something. I mean, your mom and I used to be pros at running when things got hard. Sometimes we still do. But that can't be the reason you chose a school."

"It's not the only reason." She said it with a small voice and they let the silence wash over them for a few minutes.

"We've known, even before you did honestly. We've known what you were going to do, and we thought we had made peace with it. The resolution was there, and your mom wallowed, and we thought we were okay. But I have to tell you kid, nothing could have prepared for me for the reality of it. And the pain I felt hanging up all that paraphernalia is going to be nothing compared to when I drop you off on your first day. I'm proud of you, make no mistake. If you take anything out of this evening, take that away from it okay?" She just nodded her head and let the room go quiet again, and without saying a word she turned on the TV and allowed the sounds of Meet Me in St. Louis flow through the room.

Halfway through the movie Charlie had fallen asleep and Logan was barely paying attention to the movie when he heard the front door slam, assuming it was Conrad he yelled out that they were in there. He knew Rory wasn't ready to talk about the fight from earlier, so she had most likely holed herself up in the office, pretending they had all impressive deadlines to accomplish even though, barring an emergency they should be all caught up until after the New Year.

"What's this I hear about her leaving?" Colin stormed in with Finn right behind him. Charlie woke up and stared at them for a minute, trying to get her bearings.

"Uncle Colin, Finn, what are you guys doing here?" She wiped the sleep from her eyes as the room came into focus more.

"We're trying to figure out why your brother is throwing a fit in James' room right now and going on about fucking England and the bloody blokes and the horrible men in pubs and when I asked him about it, he said our little girl is about to pull a Logan Huntzberger and go to England. Except, it's not just a year, it's not being forced upon her, but it's something she's choosing willingly. Now, darling, I beg of you. Why is Conrad lying?" Finn asked as he sat down, Charlotte hung her head down. "He's not lying, is he Love junior?"

She shook her head no as Logan patted her leg. "I'll support you, but you get to have this conversation with them darling. I need to go find your mom, see how much trouble I'm in. Conrad is holed up at your house?" He directed that last question to Colin who just nodded, leaving Logan to walk out the door.

"Why would he be in trouble?" Colin asked.

"Him and mom got into a fight, she didn't want Conrad walking out, Dad let him go. Said he needed space, agreed with him that he wasn't happy about me going." She shrugged her shoulders as tears built up in her eyes.

RLRLRLRLRL

"She can't just leave!" Conrad was pacing again, this time in a room a few blocks down.

"Dude, she can, and she is. Calm down, it's not the end of the world." James was sitting on his bed texting as he watched his friend wear a hole in the floor. "We can still see her, we have jets, we have means."

"But she's the one who helps us organize the pranks and come up with them and shit. She can't do that from a six-hour plane ride away."

"It's a shame no one has invented something where you can call someone from anywhere in the world, or even press a button and see their face. Oh! Wait."

"Come on, that was incredibly lame."

"Well, you're killing my buzz. Come back tomorrow and maybe I'll be wittier. Until then, calm the hell down. And I swear to god if you scuff up my floor with your weak ass workout I'll be forced to kick you out into the bitter cold. Okay?" Conrad sat on his friend's bed and grabbed the game controller from the night stand.

RLRLRLRLRL

Logan walked into the office where sure enough Rory was hunched over her laptop. He watched her visibly tense as he walked in. "I know you're not your dad Logan. Just like how I know I'm not my mom. But you still could have made Conrad stay. We need to talk about this, he can't just treat his sister like that."

"He was wrong, I get that. But he had to go."

"We don't even know where he's at!"

"He's at Colin's, he's fine. But he had to go. He's the only one that had the guts to say what we were all thinking here. Except maybe Colin and Finn, they're down stairs talking to her now." Rory just nodded in confirmation that she heard him.

"I just didn't want him to bolt like that you know? I bolted from my mom sometimes when she annoyed me, you bolted across different boarding schools when Mitchum would piss you off. We spent so much time trying to not be our parents to one kid, it's like we pushed Conrad into it."'

Logan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Rory, he's sixteen. He didn't get kicked out of boarding schools and sink a yacht and shit. He got mad, he yelled, once again he's sixteen. This isn't even that big of a thing."

"But it's Christmas Eve and we're spending it apart."

"We will be in the same room tomorrow, in those god-awful matching pajamas that you make us wear every year and we will be fine. Eventually. Tomorrow might not be perfect, but it will be good. But you can't treat him like he did something wrong by having an opinion on something that does affect him. Okay?" He walked over to her and held her head into his chest.

"Are those pajamas really that bad?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"Oh yeah, they're awful."

"I thought you said you liked me in them?"

"No, I said I like getting you out of them." He leered down at her as he kissed her forehead.


	26. Chapter 26

**So 26**

 **A/N: This chapter is going to be a little different than the others. Also, please see AN at the end too, and last but not least; thank you so very much for every single review. I love reading them, I go back and read them for encouragement, and the fact that I broke 200 reviews still blows my mind. I've been working on a book or screen play of my own lately and it helps.**

 _Flashback to 6 Months after Conrad's birth_

He walked into their master bedroom where she had holed herself up again. Crouched under the covers as Conrad played in the play-pen and Charlotte sat on their bed coloring across coloring books. Conrad had been such a surprise, but she had embraced the pregnancy, she seemed to do well, and Charlie was a great baby, making the pregnancy easier. It all seemed fine until a week after they got home from the hospital and she seemed to burrow herself away from everyone. She wasn't taking Lorelei's calls, shut out Finn, Colin and their families as well, she focused on the kids and him at a heightened stage of awareness. She was running herself ragged most days with worry and anxiety, checking on the babies constantly, not sleeping just watching over their cribs. Every few days the exhaustion would finally overpower her, and he would find her like this, huddled under the covers fighting everything to stay awake. Just as he was about to make himself known he heard a small face.

"Dada!" Logan took a deep breath and smiled brightly at his daughter as she wandered over to her. She was two years old and spunky as hell. And if that wasn't enough to disarm him those eyes killed him every time. He picked her up and twirled her around as she giggled.

"Hey baby girl, how were you today?" He zoned out as she babbled to him while he looked over at Rory who seemed to be sleeping, he turned back to his daughter and gave her a kiss. "Wow, great job baby, come on, let's go get mama."

He walked over to the bed and crouched down to kiss her forehead and he stroked her hair to slowly wake her up. "Hey ace."

"Logan, you're home? Oh my gosh, I can't believe I fell asleep. Are the babies okay? Does Con need anything? Wait, Charlie! Where is Charlie?!" She sat up in bed and Logan could practically feel her heart racing as her eyes darted around their room.

"Ace! Ace! Rory! She's right here, he's in his playpen. You did everything right, you set him in a safe space and set her up with crayons and cartoons, you made sure they were safe."

"No! No, I should've stayed awake, I should have watched them. I can't believe this. She could have wandered into the hall or into the bathroom where there's chemicals. I was so irresponsible."

He held her as she sobbed into his chest, he had given her time to get this in check, but he had a feeling it had been hidden from him, the extent of how much she was hurting was being downplayed for him and it seemed to finally be bubbling up now. He held her as she cried, when she finally seemed to calm down he rubbed her back for a few more minutes before finally talking to her. "Rory Huntzberger, you are an amazing mother, there are baby locks and handles on everything, so she can't get out of here or get into anything, we've created a safe space for her, and for Conrad."

"Logan, so many things can go wrong. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. It's my job to protect them."

"And you do that, every day and every night without fail. But you have to take care of yourself. You're an exceptional mother, a kick-ass wife, but you're not taking care of yourself at all are you?" He watched her duck her head in shame and he took the time to look at how skinny she had gotten, how tired she was. "I'm going to say something, and it's not a thing I will take a no for, do you hear me? We need to get you help."

"I don't need help Logan! I just worry about them."

"I know you do, I know and so do I, but I worry about you too. I just want my Ace back, I want you to tell me about the crazy conversations you and your mother have, I want to watch you pack away more food than humanly possible, I want to curl up on the couch and have a movie night after the babies fall asleep. But we haven't been able to have that, and I've let it slide for longer than I should have, and I realize that now, but Ror, you're not sleeping, you're not eating, when the babies are asleep you're either checking the monitor or standing in their rooms watching them. Something is bothering you babe and I can't sit back and watch you torture yourself for reasons I can't fully comprehend, and I wish I could, but this isn't healthy. So please, for me, for the kids, please go see someone." His tone had turned into begging at the end of it as he ran his hands through his little girl's curls as she sat on his lap, while his other hand had a vice grip Rory's hand and he lightly stroked her knuckles.

She sat there quietly for about ten minutes before they heard Conrad crying and Rory took the opportunity to leap away from the conversation she wasn't ready to have. She knew it would come soon, she knew that she couldn't keep hiding this from Logan, and he had been more than patient with her for these past 6 months. She heard him sigh as she grabbed Conrad and rocked him to sleep before she laid him in his crib. She knew he had left to take Charlotte downstairs, so she turned to head towards the kitchen but not before she made sure that his fan was on, and no blankets were crowding the crib, with one final check she reluctantly made her way downstairs to see him cooking dinner.

"Spaghetti and meatballs?" She forced herself to have a light tone and she recognized his fake smile as he turned to her.

"This little one conned me into it."

"Sounds good to me." As she walked over to him she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "Tonight, after she goes to bed, let's talk and maybe watch The Godfather?" She felt his smile before she saw it and she could feel some of the tension lift from the air.

Later that night she watched as he tucked their daughter in and she snuck away into the office and grabbed her journal. When he walked into the living room he saw her with silent tears falling down her cheeks and a journal sitting in her lap. He sat down right next to her and let her come to him. Finally, she slid the notebook over to him just as the baby woke up again. "I need to feed him, but I want you to read what's in here, okay? Read it and then we can talk. Make sure you look at the last page too."

He took a deep breath to steel himself as he opened the notebook to see frantic lines thrashed across the paper, with words jumping out at him. _Not enough. Scared. Worthless. Terrified. SIDS. PPD._ His eyes blurred as he looked at things she had written about herself, about their kids, he couldn't see anymore, he turned to another page where she had written all about the pain she was feeling, the fear that if she fell asleep she'd wake up without one of them, or that now she wasn't a good enough journalist, that she wasn't being a good enough wife. He cursed silently under his breath as he read her words again. He remembered to look at the last page where she had written down a handful of numbers.

"Those are therapists, and psychiatrists, a lot of -ists I guess. I knew it had gotten bad, I just didn't know how to tell you I was failing." He had jumped when she started talking, not expecting her to be behind him. When he turned around she took a sharp inhale of breath, his eyes had a bit of a glisten to them as unshed tears threatened to fall.

"You didn't tell me Ace. I could've helped, I still will help. God, please talk to me, please don't let it get this bad again, please. If not for you then for the babies, for me, just anything. Please." She walked over to him and brushed a tear that had fallen as she started to cry again. "God Rory, you're so much more than I could have ever imagined in my life, I just want to help you."

"Will you come with me? Will you come help me, hold me accountable?"

"Anything, I will do anything." She climbed onto his lap and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Can we watch the Godfather now?"

"Like I said Ace, anything."

RLRLRLRL

That night he took the night shift with Conrad and called in the next day, making sure she called any and all doctors, and made sure she had the nearest appointment possible. He also went to her first meeting with her psychiatrist and one meeting a week with a therapist, she found a different one for her personal issues and they used the original one as a marriage counselor. They didn't have any big problems but it gave them a chance to put time aside for them each week. After a month of therapy and being on medicine to help her postpartum depression she was starting to finally feel like herself and Logan noticed a huge change in her disposition. One day he came home to see her sitting at her laptop on the couch while the kids played around her with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey handsome!" She cheerily greeted him.

He beamed back at her, he had missed that smile so damn much. "Hey beautiful! How was your day, how were tiny and tinier?"

She ruffled Conrad's hair and she smiled. "They were crazy as usual. I order us Thai, it should be here around 7, I also have an ice cream delivery set up for nine. And look!" She led him into the kitchen where she had enough supplies for a movie night.

"Wow! This must have been a good day." He wrapped his arms around her from behind as he kissed her neck. She whirled around to face him.

"Logan! I started a blog, I know it doesn't seem that exciting, but I wanted to talk about my experience with PPD and it's getting hits, people are understanding it. I was just using it as an outlet but babe I'm not alone." She was finally excited about something, she was so happy he could feel the energy radiating off of her as he picked her up to twirl her around.

"I'm so proud of you babe."

"Is this stupid, or a waste? I mean it's not journalism." She asked quietly as she ducked her head.

He lifted her head up so she was looking right at him. "Does this make you happy?" She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. "Then it's nowhere near a waste."

 **A/N: One, I know this chapter may have been a bit out of left field but some of this stuff will play into further chapters.**

 **Also, I have an idea for a story but I'm wondering if there's interest. I was thinking of doing a story where Logan and Rory never started a no-strings thing, just had the flirting for a bit and then drifted off and never started something. They lost touch a few months before the end of her sophomore year and years, years down the line they meet again. (This isn't a shameful ploy for reviews lol, just curious!)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

It was around 2 am when Charlie heard a knock on her door, she wasn't in the mood for visitors but she begrudgingly got up and made her way to the door, opening it quickly. "What?" She looked at her brother who flinched a little at her harsh tone. "Oh, it's you." She shut the door in his face, he was going to knock again but he heard the door lock and knew that she had the same damn stubborn streak engrained in her that their mother held so he decided to go back to his room, grab his pillow, comforter and he situated himself outside of her door, knowing that his mom and dad would probably see him in the morning before his sister would, but he didn't care.

The next morning Logan passed by Conrad curled up in a ball and he shook his head at him, he was going to wake him up but figured the crick in his neck and the sore back would do him some justice after the evening they all had. He made his way down to the kitchen to start the coffee and the cinnamon rolls, thus kicking off the traditional (new) Huntzberger family Christmas morning. They'd eat breakfast, open up the mound of presents that got smaller the older the kids got, and then all settle in for It's A Wonderful Life before the kids would invite their friends over, effectively bringing the parents as well and Christmas Dinner would commence. Sometimes, Lorelei would join, but this year it was looking like an implausibility due to the storm. It was small, it was quiet, and it had been a tradition ever since Charlie's first Christmas. However, next year it would be different. Him and Rory had already talked about the fact that they'd probably go to London and see Charlie and they couldn't ask everyone to come with them.

A few moments after starting the coffee and just as the cinnamon rolls were in the oven he heard a mumbled, "Ow! What the fuck Charlotte?!" Before he saw his daughter come into the kitchen.

"Did you hit your brother on your way out of the room?" He looked at her waiting for an answer when all she did was smirk at her father.

"No, she opened the door, saw me there, and then kicked me in the head." Conrad answered his father's question as he walked into the kitchen rubbing his neck in pain.

"I didn't see him there, it was a complete accident." She used the fake innocent tone she had mastered years ago.

"You looked right down said, 'Oh, merry Christmas Con.' And then kicked me like my head was a soccer ball and you were going for the World Cup title." Conrad was pouring himself a cup of coffee before it was even done brewing, causing Logan to hurry up and put another mug underneath the downpour.

"Guys, it's Christmas. Fix this before your mother wakes up. Speaking of, I'm bringing her coffee, you have 20 minutes." Logan left the room and made his way upstairs.

"Well…."

"I'm sorry, I was just mad and taken by surprise, you didn't even discuss it with me, did you talk to Phi? Or James? Because James seemed just as surprised as I was."

"I didn't because I didn't know how to tell you guys. How do I tell you that I'm leaving? That I'm packing up and going across an ocean for reasons I can't explain. I can't tell you why this is the right decision, I can't tell you that it even is, but it's something that I have to do."

"Did you even factor me, or all of us in at all?"

Charlotte groaned and cocked her head from side to side. "Do you really think I would just leave without thinking of you all?"

"I don't know! I don't know because we didn't talk about it at all!" Conrad tried to not yell, he didn't want his mom even more upset with him than she already was.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and then stomped upstairs, before Conrad could even register what she was doing she was back in the kitchen throwing a list down in front of him. He stared at all the pros on Oxford's side and under the cons there were just three. "Mom and Dad, The Gang, Conrad."

"Those almost made me stay, they almost cancelled out the litany of reasons I had. I didn't talk about it because if I did, I would have made a different decision and I have to do this for me."

Now it was Conrad's turn to groan and then go quiet for a few minutes. "We're going to be off, it's going to take me a while to get used to this, I'm not happy, but it's Christmas and I'm sure you got me an amazing gift, so I'll put aside our issues for today."

"Wow Ace, did you hear that? What a heartfelt, wonderful apology."

"I'm truly touched hearing how our son is willing to be the bigger person." Rory chuckled as she stood in the kitchen entryway with her arm around Logan's waist.

"Wait a minute, we're dressed in the Christmas spirit, how come mom isn't?" Charlotte pointed out as she went to grab the cinnamon rolls out of the oven. She and Conrad watched as their dad smirked and Rory gave them all a glare, realization hit the teens quickly.

"Oh god!"

"Guys, you know what's not cute, a baby when your oldest is going to college."

"This is the kind of Christmas morning conversation I was really hoping for." They suddenly heard Lorelei's voice floating through the house.

"MOR MOR!" Both kids went and hugged Lorelei.

"Good morning my favorite troublemakers. Now, Luke brought coffee, should we not allow the missus of the house have any because of a precious bundle?" Lorelei teased her daughter causing Logan to laugh earning himself a glare from Rory.

"Mom, I will kick you out, how did you even get here with the snowstorm?"

"Oh, your fancy pants husband put us up in a hotel room last night as a surprise."

Rory turned to look at Logan who had turned a nice shade of red but had a boyish grin on his face. "You really did that?"

"Is it really a Christmas without your mom? Come on Ace. It's tradition."

"Speaking of tradition, where is the cinnamon rolls?" Lorelei made her way to the kitchen island where Rory was already starting to dole out the rolls.

"Merry Christmas Luke." Logan shook his father-in-law's hand as he entered the kitchen after throwing the presents they had brought into the living room.

"Merry Christmas guys."

"Oh, thank god, someone sane." Rory exclaimed as she handed Luke his plate and gave him a hug. When suddenly they heard a shriek come from Lorelei.

"Mom, what is wrong?"

"So, I guess Oxford won, huh?" Lorelei asked while staring at the list that had been discarded on the kitchen table from earlier. "And I didn't even make the list?" She had a watery smile, trying to show she was joking.

"If it makes you feel any better, being close to you was on my Yale pro list." Charlotte told her as she gave her a hug.

"That does make me feel better. Thanks kid." There was a slightly heavy silence that fell over the room.

"Well, it looks like this is a special Christmas, so let's get it started." Logan exclaimed as he started taking the plates into the living room.

Before she left the room, Lorelei pulled Charlotte close and gave her another hug. "I'm proud of you hon, so damn proud."

 **A/N: Short chapter, just wanted a fluffy piece. I'll probably steer away from the college drama for a bit, just to add something different. What do you want to see more of, their dynamic as parents or more of the work issues? I have an idea for both ends of the spectrum.**

 **Also, thank you for the wonderful feedback on last chapter, as someone who had 4 c-sections in 5.5 years, and losing a 2 year old while my youngest (at the time) was 4 months old, I battled PTSD and PPD a lot so I felt it was important to talk about.**

 **Also, I did end up starting that story that I had prompted in the last chapter and I'm really excited about it.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

 **A/N: Hey guys, I'm back!**

It was mid- May and things had returned to normal a short while after Christmas, Charlotte was now prepping for graduation and had employed her brother, James and Ophelia to help her with the senior prank even if they were only juniors. As they all entered the house they threw their bags on the kitchen island.

"Where are mom and dad?" Conrad asked as he made his way to the fridge.

"Hartford… again." Charlie responded, rolling her eyes.

"I'm shocked they haven't had to relocate you guys there with how much they've had to go out there." Ophelia sounded worried as she grabbed Conrad's water from him and took a drink.

"I know, apparently some of the employees were a little to loyal to the old Huntzberger name." Charlotte wasn't supposed to know much, but she had heard the conversations that her parents had in regard to the acquisition that was taking over their lives, and sometimes in a moment of weakness her mom would use her as a sounding board.

"Wow, Mitchum can really dig those claws in, can't he?" Hearing Conrad and Charlotte talk about their other grandparents in such informal terms used to throw James and Ophelia but now it was common practice.

James looked over at Ophelia who barely nodded her head. "I'm sorry about the rumors that have been spreading you guys, we know it's not true, dad and Uncle Finn would kill your dad if it was true. I'm still sorry though."

"We're not supposed to be discussing it. I mean, it's all obviously bull shit but it's still something that doesn't get talked about. Anyway, what are we planning? I left it to you three because you're the creative ones." Charlotte tried to divert the conversation, and thankfully it worked.

RLRLRLRL

"How the hell have we still not found the damn leak?!" Logan screamed, causing Rory to throw her head on the table in the board room they were in. The private investigator jumped a little, knowing that this meeting wasn't going to go well.

"I'm sorry Logan, there must be more than what we were originally looking for, I've given you all the information I have available right now. I know it's not the news you wanted to hear."

"Damn right it's not."

"Logan!" Rory finally spoke up, causing the two men in the room to look over at her. "Calm down."

"You want me to remain calm? Rory, someone is feeding things to Mitchum, who knows who it is and who we can trust in this place. I'm sorry that I'm tired of not feeling like I can have this place be fully operational because of a few bad eggs. The only thing I can think of is—"

"We're not firing the whole damn building Logan."

"Then what do you suggest? Because I don't trust a single person in these walls. And we can't keep driving down here and back trying to put out fires, Charlie graduates in a few weeks, I'm positive the rest of them are up to something, and not only that but I'm tired of not getting home until 10-11 at night. So, we either find the leaks, fire everyone, or cut this at the knees and sell it, meaning the people will probably lose their jobs anyway." When he watched her sigh and drop her head again he threw up his hands in reluctant admittance of victory. "Exactly."

The private investigator cleared his throat. "We will do another full sweep of the building, see if there's bugs anywhere, and we will keep our trail on Mitchum tighter. We can track any of the office computers and accounts, but we can't do anything about their personal ones. We're working around the clock Mr. and Mrs. Huntzberger."

Logan glared, and Rory rolled her eyes at her husband. "Thank you, just let me know if you have any new information." Effectively dismissing the man, she turned back to Logan and ran her hand up and down his arm. "Logan, come on, we've dealt with horrible businessmen before and we can do it again."

"Those business men don't know my past, they don't slander our name in every damn tabloid, they don't try to rip us apart." Logan spat out angrily.

"And Mitchum isn't capable of that either, we knew he wouldn't go down without a fight, and fine, if we have to dismantle this and we have to let people go then that's what it will come down to, but we're still strong, we're still fine, and we are still going to actively look for a solution here, okay? And you're right about being home more, we should. So, we're going to shut down the offices here for a few days, the security team needs to sweep the place anyway, and we're going to go home and recoup for a few days."

Logan looked over at her with an exhausted look on his face before finally conceding and grabbing his things to head out the door. Just as the two of them were about to leave the room to let everyone know about the building wide shut down he grabbed her hand. "It's affecting the kids now, you know? It's one thing to go after us but they hear that shit. I heard about my dad's unsavory behavior for years, but it was only at parties, at school no one knew, and no one cared. But our kids? They get it at school. She's trying to graduate, and she has to deal with rumors that her dad is…"

"Except there's a huge difference, what they were saying about Mitchum was true so it was harder to ignore. What they're saying about you? It's a lie, it's not one of those 'where there's smoke, there's fire.' It's where there's Mitchum, there's chaos. You did nothing wrong, if I thought you had, if I had even a sliver of a doubt that you had done anything that were in those tabloids I wouldn't be here. You know that, and the kids know that. You didn't do anything wrong Logan. But, I do think we need to stop keeping the kids in the dark."

With a silent squeeze of her hand he bent his head down, resting his forehead on hers. "I don't deserve you." She lifted her free hand to cup his cheek and gave him a small kiss before they made their way out into the offices.

RLRLRL

" _Hey guys, on our way home. Core family dinner tonight, tell the other two they can invite their parents over for dessert."_

" _You'll actually be home for dinner?"_

" _Conrad don't be an ass."_

Rory showed Logan the group text between her and their kids. "Their friendship is really something special isn't it. Why are you inviting the boys over for dessert?"

"You know they've both been married for years and have kids of their own, it's not just the boys anymore. And I invited them because I think it would be nice to have an evening at home with friends and family. Plus, the kids might want to hang out with their friends after all of this, especially if they're anything like you. Which judging by our credit card bills, they are."

When they arrived home their chef had prepared pot roast and had set the table and they all sat there until finally Conrad spoke up. "Guys, what the hell is going on?"

"Well, I guess that's one way to start the conversation…"

"Mom."

"Sorry. It's just a lot. Okay, so your dad's dad is an asshole."

"No, that's a way to start a conversation." Logan added with a smirk. "But your mom isn't wrong. He is trying to get back at us for buying out HPG, we believe he has people spying on the company and is trying to get secrets. It's why we've been out there so much trying to find the mole. He also, because he's Mitchum, decided to go after the two of us personally. He decided to act our marriage and my fidelity to your mom, and my commitment to our family."

"Dear god, he should bug this house, he'd hear that your very *ahem* committed to mom."

"Oh lord Conrad don't be gross."

"Anyway, I'm sure some comments have been made to you." Logan watched as both of his kids started playing with the napkins on their laps and avoiding making eye contact. His anger surged, and Rory took over.

"Just know that those comments are wrong, your dad and I are great. Have been for years, pretty much since the day we got engaged, and not only that but your dad and I are constantly in therapy and have been since Conrad was born to make sure we're still working together as a team. I don't know how to combat the rumors with the exception of doing things we normally do and being a family, but your dad and I are so sorry that you're dealing with the fall out of this purchase. If we would have known that this would have been the repercussions, we wouldn't have made this choice. But we did, and we're here and we're dealing with it all together."

Finally, Logan spoke up. "And Charlie, please focus on school and graduation and your move. Do not worry about this at all. How is school going for the both of you? We're only a few weeks away from graduation."

"Well Charlotte got valed— OW! What was that for?" Conrad yelped as he got kicked under the table.

Logan and Rory shot glances over the table at each other before they both shot up. "YOU WHAT?!"

"I got valedictorian…" Charlotte mumbled back.

"That is amazing, and we are so proud of you." Rory gave her daughter a hug as Logan did the same.

"Why didn't you want us to know?"

"I don't know, it's not a big deal" She shrugged her shoulders and Rory saw herself so many years ago.

"I didn't think it was a big deal either, but it was for me. Enjoy the moment, okay? Have fun with it because you worked hard, and you deserve it."

Logan whipped his head around. "You were valedictorian?!"

"Have you been with me just for my looks this whole time?"


	29. Chapter 29

**So 29**

Rory looked around the grand hall that was decorated to nines with a deep blue and signs that boasted 'Oxford bound' and her daughter standing in the middle of the room wearing a smile that was almost blinding. She felt a hand come up behind her and rest on her shoulder. "You know, it's a shame you had to spare so many expenses on this party. I mean, it's a real bore here isn't it?"

Rory turned to her mother and rolled her eyes. "Oh stop, your daughter only graduates top of her class once in her life."

"Actually, if she doesn't take some time off after a felony, she could get it in college too." Lorelei poked her daughter and Rory glared at her. "Oh stop, I'm just kidding. I'm incredibly happy for her, and you. This place looks great."

"I just wanted her to have a good time, I can't believe that she's really leaving, I mean she's actually going to England." Rory spoke quietly, willing herself not to cry at the party.

"I know, but she looks so happy, plus you never know, maybe you'll be lucky, and she'll hate it and she'll be home in a few months?"

"That's not what I want."

"No, but it's what I want." Conrad came up with Logan. "Come on, I'm about to go sneak some cake, want to join me?" He directed the question at Lorelei.

"Do you even have to ask? But we're not exactly sneaking it if your parents are right here and can hear you."

"Oh, like they care, it's Charlie I'm hiding from." With that the devious pair left Logan and Rory to look around the room.

"You know, all those years ago when we first danced here I never would've thought we'd be hosting our daughter's graduation party here." He stopped for a few minutes as he looked toward the hall where the room where they had been caught was. "Actually, after that night I thought I'd never get to kiss you again."

"I'm sure you were hoping to never have to see me again after that." Rory said with a chuckle.

"If it meant half of your family barging in to kill me every time I tried to kiss you, honestly I would have been fine never seeing you again." Rory hit him lightly. "I'm just kidding, I'd be lost without you. You know that."

She sighed as she sank back into him while he held her from behind. "I'd be lost without you too." She felt him kiss the top of her head. "Why don't we try to finish what we started all those years ago?"

"Are you trying to seduce me Mrs. Robinson?"

"Are you insinuating I'm as old as Mrs. Robinson?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm just saying, it's a damn shame that the room is just left empty."

"Yeah, and have your mom, dad, Luke, and knowing our luck, our children, or worse Finn and Colin come catch us? I think I'll wait until we're in the comfort of our suite with a lock tonight."

"Fair point wait did that room not have a lock?"

"Oh no, it did, we just weren't smart enough to lock it last time."

"Wow, we were young and dumb, weren't we?" Rory observed as she looked around the room making sure no one heard their conversation.

"We were young, dumb and turned on." Logan whispered in her ear.

"You barely kissed me the first few times!"

"I didn't believe you and I could just be casual, excuse me for trying to respect that. And, it turns out I was right."

"Wait, you mean this hasn't been casual this whole time? Whoops, I need to have an awkward conversation with Colin in that case." Logan looked around before he pinched Rory's butt playfully causing her to yelp. "Okay, I deserved that." Her eyes narrowed as she watched Conrad leave the cake table and rush over to James and Ophelia and point to the door where she saw a 6'2" guy with striking black hair, the bluest eyes she had ever seen, and a leather jacket walk through the door. Logan followed her gaze.

"Um, who is that?"

"Judging by the fact that your daughter is now white as a sheet, I'm guessing this is the Henry situation she was running from." Rory looked over to her daughter who was trying to escape down the same hallway her and Logan had escaped down 21 years ago.

"Do you know anything about him?" Logan had an edge to his voice as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him, he saw his son and James follow after Henry and Ophelia follow Charlie.

"Other than the fact that his name is Henry and your daughter is running from him? No."

"Why do you keep saying 'your daughter' like that?" Logan asked her.

"Because, I refuse to accept that she get's any of this avoidance from me." Rory started matter of factly.

"Her avoidance skills are a skill we both possess in spades there Rory. Unfortunately, this one is all on us." He started to follow the boys and Rory held him back. "Um, what are you doing?" He asked as he stared at her hand.

"We can't follow them."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because, this situation is a teenage girl thing, if it was that bad, I would have heard about it, and if it was really that bad, then do you honestly think Conrad would allow him to walk into the room, or even still be walking?" Rory asked and directed his attention over to where the boys stood, he could see them talking with serious faces and hushed tones, but they were civil. Rory watched as his face softened slightly. "Exactly." But as she said it, she watched the boy walk back towards that hallway and she felt Logan tense up and before she could say anything he was walking over to Conrad and James.

"Why is he going down that hallway? Do you know what happens down there?"

"Um, isn't there some painting class or something?" James answered in a questioning tone.

"Don't be a smart-ass James." Logan shot back before immediately sending an apologetic glance back to him.

"Woah, dad, what is going on?"

"Is that Henry?" Logan turned his attention back to his son.

"Yes, it is."

"Did he not just disappear into a room with your sister?"

"Yes, but dad, he needs to talk to her. Just let him talk to her. Please? Yes, he screwed up, but you know Charlie, she can be kind of a mess."

"She get's that from your mother, sometimes. Don't let her know I said that, but she does." Logan butted in and the two boys couldn't help but laugh.

"He just wants to tell her how he feels. Just let them talk." Conrad pleaded.

RLRL

"Henry, leave!"

"I'm not leaving, I just want to talk about this!"

"There's nothing to talk about. We didn't work out, it happens, accept it and move on." Charlotte answered as she stood across the room from him.

"But it did work out, we were good together." Henry spoke in a deep voice, but instead of the gruffness she was used to it was pleading with her now.

"We weren't together! Damn it Henry we agreed! We agreed not to do this."

"And then I told you I loved you and it apparently wasn't enough for you." She could hear the hurt in his voice, but she refused to acknowledge it, refusing to look at him.

"Of course, it wasn't enough when it was a lie." She shot back, and she could almost see the words hitting him like a ton of bricks as he stumbled back and fell onto the couch.

"You think it was a lie? Are you fucking kidding me? Wow Lee," Her head shot up and tears sprung to her eyes at his nickname for her, the only one who could call her Lee. "You really are a cold-hearted bitch."

"Don't speak to me like that! You don't get that privilege anymore."

"Apparently, I never had that privilege, because apparently I never cared about you at all. So, all the times we talked about Yale, all the times we talked about anything, they were just crap?"

"Yeah, they were crap the moment you started dating Heather and ditched me." Charlie's voice was angry again as she remembered finding out that he had to end whatever they were because he decided to start dating someone a grade below them who, per Ophelia, made sure everyone knew that she stole Charlie's man away from her.

"Because I was tired of waiting for you!"

"If you loved me you would have waited!"

"And I dumped her within a few weeks because I figured out that I didn't want to be with anyone else, and I've apologized, damn it! You're the most stubborn person I've ever met." His lengthy body was slumped against the back of the couch as he threw his head back and groaned, while Charlotte stood at the back of the room with her arms across her chest on the defense.

"It's been 6 months Charlotte. Six months where I haven't crossed any lines with you, I barely wave to you in the hall, I lost Conrad and James as friends because they didn't hear my side for months. The only reason they didn't kick my ass is because I was to damn distraught to fight back. You think this hasn't been killing me? Not being with you, even as friends? I haven't looked at anyone else since I was stupid enough to date Heather. I thought I wanted a girlfriend, I thought if I couldn't have you, then someone else would do because I wanted the label. But I didn't want the label, I wanted you, I still want you." He had leaned over his body placing his head in his hands at his knees. "God, Lee, I've wanted you for how long? But fine, you're not ready to settle down, I get that. And now, now you're leaving to go to London and do you know what I did when I found out? I fucking cheered, and I wanted to grab you in the hall and spin you around and kiss you and tell you how proud I was, but no, I wasn't allowed to do that. I had to barely mumble out a congratulations as you passed me in the hall. And you barely even looked at me when you heard me. And I know you did because I watched you look at me and then you laughed at something Phi said and you brushed me as if I meant nothing. Is that it, do I mean nothing?"

"You know you don't Henry, but you can't mean what you do mean to me. If I would have started anything with you I wouldn't be getting on a plane in a few months, I wouldn't be going to the place that I know is the right fit for me. I would have gone to Yale and always questioned if I missed anything. And you know what the worst part is? I almost gave into you, into us, but then I heard about you and her, with her bragging about how much better she was than I was, you couldn't even give me the decency of telling me that you were seeing me, that you were giving up on us." Her voice broke and Henry almost gave in. "So yeah, I guess your I love you was crap."

With that last sentence his anger was back. "It wasn't crap, but fine, go to Oxford, find a British guy who you can barely understand—"

"They speak English over there you moron."

He ignored her interruption and continued. "Go over there and find someone who will treat you like a princess, who waits in the wings for you forever, who holds your purse while you shop and becomes your yes man, who doesn't challenge you, or make you even the tiniest bit happy. Who, whenever he kisses you won't kiss you like I will, and then you'll come home for some break and we can see each other across the room and pretend like all of this was complete bullshit. But you'll know, and I'll know that it wasn't, and you know that when I told you that I loved you it wasn't crap. I never would have stopped you from England, I was too damn happy for you and proud of you. I want you to go over there and kick ass, but you never gave me a chance, you never gave me a chance." And then he got up and stalked over to her before he lightly grabbed her arms, unfolding them and pushing her against the wall and he kissed her as hard as he could, and she kissed back with equal fervor. "I hope you find someone Lee, but you'll never feel that with anyone else." He took the pad of his thumb and wiped the tears that had finally broke from her eyes. "I love you. Goodbye Charlotte Huntzberger."

She watched him as he backed out of the room, never taking his eyes off of her and he closed the door before she finally gained her sense and ran over to the door and opened it, to see him standing on the other side trying to control his own breathing. She jumped into his arms and kissed him just as hard as he had done to her just a few moments prior. "I'm still going to Oxford. But I love you too Henry Dugrey."


	30. Chapter 30

**So 30**

 **A/N: Someone had mentioned they think this is the first the Henry Situation was brought it up, it actually wasn't. When Conrad and Charlotte were in the office waiting for Logan and Rory to come in and explain that they had bought HPG it was talked about and Conrad yelled that she was going to Oxford to get away from the situation on Christmas Eve. Also, holy crap, 30 chapters.**

Lorelei and Rory scanned the room looking for the guest of honor as it was technically time to cut the cake. "Rory, you are aware your son and I have already done that, correct? And that it's not a wedding so there doesn't need to be a ceremonially cake cutting?"

"It's not that, I would just like a picture of her with her cake before any more people defile her cake because they can't control their appetites." Rory sent her mother a pointed glare.

"It's not my fault! Blame your son, who gave me the idea."

"I really don't like when the two of you get together, it's like Lucy and Ethel except worse." Rory opened the door to the backroom without even thinking and felt resistance, she pushed open a little bit more only to see limbs flailing. When the door finally opened she was transported back 21 years. She heard a deep voice mumble 'Shit' and a girl's voice shrieking.

"Oh. My. God." Lorelei was doubled over in laughter. "Oh. My. God."

"Can you say anything else Janice?" Rory snapped at her mother never taking her eyes off of her daughter. "And you two? It's time for cake." She said before sending one more death glare towards the young man without a shirt on. As she left she dragged a now wheezing Lorelei by the back of her shirt.

Henry turned towards Charlie while throwing his shirt on. "It's time for cake? Is that seriously the only thing your mom just said to us?" Charlie sent him the same piercing death glare her mother gave her. "Wow, she had to be your mom because you both have that look that makes me want to cower in fear."

"Just get dressed damn it. Good news, I guess now you get to meet my parents like you had been wanting."

"Surprisingly I wanted to meet them before they ever caught us like this."

RLRL

Rory stomped back into the main ballroom, stopping just at the entrance to the hallway so Lorelei wouldn't draw attention to them as she still tried to contain her laughter. "Mom, please be quiet."

"I'm sorry. I can't, did you not see what I did? Because I have déjà vu so badly right now it hurts. What is with Huntzbergers and that room? Does it just get great acoustics or something? Hm, maybe I should go ask Logan?" Lorelei said with an evil gleam to her eye.

"No!" Rory snapped. "You cannot ask Logan!" But her mother's evil smile never faltered, and Rory's already pinched face grew even more pale when she heard Logan come up behind her, along with Conrad and James with Finn and Colin right behind them.

"Ask Logan what?"

"Nothing!" Rory quickly answered and before Lorelei could say anymore Rory stomped on her toe.

"What's wrong with reporter girl?" Colin asked just as Henry and Charlie came out of the hallway, while their clothes were put back together nicely there was no hiding the askew hair. When Charlotte avoided the stares of her mother and grandmother Lorelei couldn't stop herself from laughing again.

"Oh my god, it's to good. You know, they always said when you have kids they'll be like you but worse. And let me tell you, that moment is just proving itself today." Lorelei kept laughing as Charlotte and Henry quickly tried to bypass the group.

"Oh, not so fast there kiddo." Logan's voice was serious, and Charlotte immediately stopped in her tracks, while Finn and Colin stood in front of Henry. They didn't know the exact situation, but they had a pretty good idea. "Why can't you look at your mom?"

"I can, see." She shot her mother a quick glance, looking over her shoulder.

"Not even close. And the boy behind you can't even look at the ground without blushing. Would you like to explain why?"

The whole group was quiet as Charlie now couldn't even look at her dad in the eyes. Lorelei's new round of laughter broke the silence. "No, seriously, does that room get good acoustics? Can someone tell me or should Luke and I go try it out for ourselves seeing as everyone else has been back there. Of course, unlike you guys I'll make sure to lock the door."

The anger that overtook Logan's eyes when his suspicions were confirmed made Conrad and James quickly excuse themselves. "It was nice knowing you buddy." James tapped Henry's shoulder as he passed them.

"I'm just going to go. My work here is done." Lorelei skipped away while catching up to Conrad. "Please tell me you got pictures of your dad's face, or your uncles, they looked lethal. Good luck when you and Phi go public."

Conrad whipped his head around. "Next time say Hamlet in a theater, it will lead to less disastrous results. Jesus."

Back near the entrance to the hallway Finn and Colin stood, blocking Charlotte and Henry from leaving while Logan stood in front of them and Rory stood to the side. "Logan, not here, let's just finish the party and discuss this at home." She gently touched his arm and he seemed to calm down. "Now, Charlotte would you like to introduce us to your friend?"

Suddenly Logan's glare was back, and it was made worse when Finn spoke, with a tone unlike many of them had heard before. "Seems like he's more than a friend, huh mate?"

"Finn. Stop. Let her introduce him." Rory scolded. This is one of the biggest times she hated being the mother of the group.

Charlotte started speaking in the softest voice she had. "Um, mom, dad, this is Henry Dugrey."

Rory's eyes snapped up and she was about to say something when Logan spoke up. "Don't use that innocent voice on me right now Charlotte. And as for you!" He turned to Henry who, despite his 6'2" stature felt about half his size under the watchful glare of his now girlfriend's father and uncles. "You are incredibly lucky my wife was the one that found you and that she had my child-like mother-in-law with her to deal with."

Finally, Rory spoke up. "Wait, Dugrey?" Henry didn't say anything but nodded his head. "Any relation to Tristan Dugrey?"

Henry cleared his throat in an attempt to get his voice under control. "That's my father, ma'am."

"Okay, I'm trying to give you a chance after catching you with my daughter but so help me god if you call me ma'am again." Henry nodded one more time. "How is your dad doing? I knew him for a few years in high school."

"I'm assuming before he got sent to military school?"

"Yes actually. Right before he got sent away. I hope he's well."

"He is, he and my mom actually met down in North Carolina his senior year, her junior and moved up here to start his law firm in New York." Henry felt a small bit of comfort at the way this conversation was going, at least there was one person in this group not wanting to kill him with their eyes.

"That's wonderful. Listen, why don't you guys run off, Charlotte please go by the cake and get a picture with the cake. Finn, Colin, let them through." When Henry passed by Finn, Finn stuck his foot out to trip him. "Finn, honestly!"

"Sorry love, it was an accident."

Rory rolled her eyes and then called out to Charlotte one more time. "Oh, and Charlie? Maybe fix your hair again." She then turned to Colin and Finn. "And you two, I need a moment alone with Logan, please go find your wives, or a bar, I don't care."

Colin put a hand on Logan and Finn's shoulders. "I've never been happier to have an only son." With that the two walked away and Rory stepped in front of Logan who was still glaring in the direction everyone had just left.

 **A/N: Yes, short, it was just meant to be fluffy. Have a great October 3** **rd** **.**


	31. Chapter 31

**SO 31**

 **A/N: Fluffy Chapter.**

Rory looked up at Logan who was watching Henry and Charlotte walk back into the crowd. "Logan?" His eyes still never budged. "Logan?" Nothing. Finally, she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes and caught his attention.

"What?!" His voice carrying the same snap her fingers did just a moment ago.

Rory rolled her eyes at her husband. "Logan Huntzberger get a grip. Your daughter, who is about to go to a whole other country, has a serious boyfriend. She's dated before you know? Why is this guy any different?"

"They were caught being…"

"Intimate." Lorelei and Conrad passed the conversation and called out causing Rory to turn to the both of them.

"Do I need to escort you both off of the property? Separate corners, now!"

"Mom is no fun today." Lorelei pouted as her and Conrad walked off.

"Logan they're teenagers, this isn't the first guy you've seen around, stop acting like it's some scandal. Why is this getting to you so badly?"

"Because look at them Rory! Look at him! I know he's not the first guy to come around but he's the first guy that looks like God's gift to women, and even worse, he looks at her like I look at you and that, is that damn near terrifying." Logan said, Rory sighed, letting all of the pent-up agitation she had fall off of her shoulders. "She's leaving Ror, she's leaving and she's going to England and what if he tries to stop her? Or what if he somehow gets accepted and goes over there too? Or worse, they do long distance and he cheats and breaks her heart? We can't protect her, she's an ocean away and we can't protect her."

"Long distance is doable without adultery Logan, we did it. At least I did." She sent him a pointed glare.

"We did." He assured her quickly. "But it was still hard. And what if he asks her to stay?"

"Hey, you asked me to ask you to stay, and I didn't. I couldn't, god, I wanted to, but I couldn't do it. And how do you know that he could even ask that of her? If he looks at her like you look at me, would you have asked me to give up on my dreams, or my opportunities? Would you have tried to stop me from anything?"

"Well, no, of course not. But—"

"But nothing. Look, they're both like you in the fact that they don't settle down easily. Charlotte doesn't seem like the serial dater, Conrad has that title on lock down, and she guards her heart like crazy. But, she looks happy with him. So, let them be. Let her be happy. We have a few months left with her, with our family, don't spend it mad because they were having the same fun that you and I have had before."

Logan glared above Rory's head at the couple that were by the cake before he finally wrapped his arms around Rory's waist and placed his chin on the top of her head. "How bad was the scene?"

"Let's just say I have a newfound appreciation for my mom, Luke, and Christopher for not killing you."

"Enough said."

As they made their way back to the party where they joined Paris, Doyle, Colin, Finn, Cassandra, and Stacy. "How are you feeling mate?" Finn asked as he handed him a glass of scotch, earning him a grunt of acknowledgement and thanks.

"What happened? And who is that boy with Charlie?" Paris asked Rory.

"That would be Henry Dugrey." Just as Paris opened her mouth to speak Rory held up her hand to stop her. "Yes Paris, that Dugrey's son."

Paris raised her eyebrows and then tipped her glass to Logan and Rory. "I wish you both the best of luck with that." She looked back at the boy again who now had placed his arm around Charlotte's waist, causing Colin, Finn, and Logan to all take a drink subconsciously. "Damn, he does look like him too. Took an extra generation but it looks like Dugrey finally got his Mary."

"What does Paris mean?" Logan asked, shooting Rory a look, whose turn it was to down her drink.

"Thank you, so much Paris, I had just diffused one situation. Logan, it was nothing, and I will talk to you more about it at home. But for now, I am getting away from everyone because this party, which was supposed to be a happy occasion is giving me a headache." With that Rory stomped off and headed towards the back exit before finally settling outside at the back of the building. She was out there for about 5 minutes when she heard the door open and then close quietly. "It took you longer than I thought it would for you to come out here."

"Yeah, well, I tend to know when to rush after, and when it's safer for me to take my time." Logan shrugged and then settled down next to her.

"Today is exhausting, and our daughter, and her protectors, and my mother being 5, and encouraging Conrad, and her leaving home, it's just all exhausting." Rory threw her head back onto the brick wall softly and sighed. She moved her head to the side and looked over at him when he started rubbing his hand on her leg in a comforting gesture.

"I know babe." Logan got quiet for a few moments before he squeezed her leg to get her attention again. "Are you okay?"

"Logan." Rory's voice had a warning tone to it.

"I know, I know, but I just want to make sure."

"Logan, that was 16 years ago."

"I know, but you are my wife, my best friend—"

"Finn will be so disappointed." Rory shook her head trying to lighten the mood.

"Rory. I'm serious. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. And if not, at least now we know the warning signs, right?" She squeezed his hand and smiled at him and he smiled back. "I love you, and your overprotective ways."

"I love you too. And your ability to calm me down. Even when I want to—"

"Don't finish that sentence." She scolded him playfully.

"So, you ready to talk about what Paris was talking about?" Logan asked her as she laid her head down on his shoulder and he stroked her hair with his hand.

"Oh my god. Henry's dad went to Chilton with us for a little bit, he called me Mary, Paris was jealous because he liked to goad me, blah blah blah. I saw our daughter in a compromising position today, Tristan being Henry's dad is the least of my concerns, or frankly on my radar today."

"And you never dated him?"

"Logan Huntzberger, we have been married for 18 years, you've met both of my exes, no, he was not an ex."

"You're right, I have met both of them, and you're related to half of them." He grinned cheekily at her. "I was just wondering why Paris said what she said, not jealous, just curious." Logan kissed her forehead and then kissed her lips. "We should probably head back into the party, you know, the one we're technically throwing."

"All for a daughter who is leaving us." Rory sighed dramatically as she hoisted herself up and tucked herself into Logan when he got up as well.

RLRLRL

Logan, and Rory sat in their movie room three nights after the party when they heard the front door open and close. "We're in here!" Rory called to whomever entered the house. Suddenly the doorway to the movie room was darkened by James, Ophelia, Conrad, Charlie, and Henry. "So, they sucked you into their fearsome foursome?" Rory smirked as she directed her question to the newest addition.

"Um, yeah…" He answered quietly stealing a glance to Logan.

"Oh, his bark is worse than his bite. And really, his bark his nothing." Logan nudged her in the side and then got up and extended his hand out to Henry.

"Hi Henry, we didn't get fully introduced, I'm Logan Huntzberger. I'm not going to ask your intention, I'm not going to lecture you, I'm just going to ask you the same thing I ask of my son, be respectful."

"Yes sir." Henry gave him a small smile.

"What are you guys up to this evening? And do I need to have the lawyer called?"

"Well, we were going to come home and watch a movie, but we forgot that our parents spend every night cuddled on the couch like they're two teens on a date where they're worried about getting caught, so I guess that plan is off tonight." Conrad sent his parents a pointed stare.

"That was a very targeted attack. I'm not sure if I should sit here out of spite and proved to you how much I'm not worried about getting caught, or actually take my wife out on a date tonight." Logan asked as Rory lifted herself up to whisper in his ear, the group watched as his eyes went wide and he smirked. "Well, that made my decision for me. Guys, we're going out. Don't do drugs, make sure you set the security alarm, and always act like you're worried about being caught."

They ran up the stairs to get dressed and head out for the evening. Leaving the group in their wake when James turned to Conrad. "Wow, your parents are easy."

"Oh yeah. Easily goadable. So, what movie are we watching tonight?" As he sat down, effectively letting Charlotte she was taking care of setting the movie up. With that Ophelia came and sat at the opposite end of the couch he was on, James sent Conrad a questioning look causing Conrad to send a small shrug as he gave her the same questioning look which she ignored.

RLRL

"Were you serious about wearing that?" Logan asked as he buttoned up his shirt and tucked it in. He held in his breath as she walked out of her closet in a tight red dress that stopped mid-thigh and was short-sleeved. Her lipstick shade matched her dress perfectly, and the black Louboutin pumps extended her legs. When his breath finally returned he raked his eyes over her one more time before he spoke. "Okay, that's it. My wife looks to good, date night every night, the kids are grown, we don't need to do family dinners anymore. I just need nights out with you like that."

"Hmm, if you like this then I think you'll really enjoy what is underneath." She smiled up at him as she kissed him before she started walking downstairs and to their front door. Just as they were about to leave she turned to go into the movie room. "Guys, please be good, and pick a better movie." Just as Rory walked out she heard Conrad slap James.

"Please don't check out my mom, god you're worse than Finn."


	32. Chapter 32

**SO 32**

Rory and Logan were sitting in their home office pouring over all the findings from the investigation. Rory looked over to see Logan seething and just shook her head and left to go get coffee for them to drink before facing the conversation at hand. She sat in their kitchen waiting for the pot to finish brewing with her head in her hands when the back door was opened with 5 teens piling in while laughing. They all stopped when they saw Rory sitting there quietly and Conrad came to sit next to her. "Mom? Is everything okay?" Just then they heard the slamming of something hitting the office wall and glass shattering causing everyone to jump.

"Bad news today." Rory gave a humorless laugh. "Very bad news. Do you think you guys could find a new evil lair today? Dad wouldn't take it out on you, hell, he'd be happy to see you guys, but we need to brainstorm and I'm not sure how much our ideas are going to align." Just then they heard the office door slam and Logan's heavy footsteps echo throughout the house before he walked into the kitchen and saw everyone there, he gave a small, polite small at the crowd that had gathered.

"Hey dad!" Charlotte walked over to him and gave him a hug causing Logan to laugh for a minute.

"What do you want kiddo?" Logan looked at his daughter as she released the hug. He looked at Rory with the same pained look that was on her face.

"You just looked like you were having a bad day, just thought I'd be nice and try to make it better." She smiled sweetly up at him.

"Did we ground her, and I forgot about it?" He asked Rory while smiling, it was the first time she had seen him smile all day.

"No babe, I'm pretty sure your daughter is just banking suck-up points to use at a later date." She took advantage of the lull in the conversation to slightly divert to what they were talking about earlier, before Logan had walked in. "So, guys, what is on the agenda for today?"

"Well considering the blistering heat outside we figured what better thing to do than to recreate the ice-skating scene in Serendipity. Conrad promised he would wear the Kate Beckinsale wig." Ophelia winked at him.

"Well I would make a wonderful brunette." Conrad pretended to flip his almost non-existent hair.

"You'd just look like a stockier version of Charlotte." James pointed out causing Henry and Ophelia to both shudder at the thought.

"Are you calling me stocky?" Conrad raised in eyebrow in jest.

"Stockier than the waif your sister is, and considering you work out like it's a job? Yes. Yes I am."

"As riveting as this conversation is, what are you guys doing today?" Logan was now curious, it looked like they had a mountain of work ahead of them and he knew it was going to be a long day. As much as he didn't mind that their house was the house where everyone hung out, today probably wasn't the best day for it.

"Well, you see daddy." Charlotte started with a sweet voice and an innocent smile causing everyone to roll their eyes and Conrad to groan.

"Now they know you're just sucking up. Just let me handle this." He turned to Rory and Logan. "Mom, dad, we would like to spend the week at uncle Colin's Hampton house. See as wonderful as being here is, we know you guys have been so busy lately and we just wouldn't want to be in the way. That's not fair to you guys. We're really just thinking about you guys here."

Logan rolled his eyes and then remembered who else was in the room before he turned his attention to Henry. "I assume this one will be going too?"

"This one? You mean my boyfriend, whom you like and actually get along with?" It was true, it had been 6 weeks since the graduation party and Henry finally started to loosen up around Logan and Rory and Logan actually didn't hate the boy who loved his daughter. Charlotte glared at her father as she went over and pulled Henry's arms around her waist, so he was holding her from behind. "Yes, he will be going." Logan was thankful they were getting away, none of them needed to be here when this latest tabloid rumor hit the fan if they couldn't get it stopped. He sent a look to Rory who was thinking the same thing.

"I demand different rooms. Colin's place has enough rooms, hell, enough wings, you guys could stay in opposite zip codes at that place. I think that's a fair compromise." He answered with a serious tone but a joking glint to his eyes and a wink to the other three in the group, something Rory missed.

"Logan Huntzberger it is not a fair compromise. Yes, you guys can go. I'm assuming you're leaving tonight?" The group nodded. "Fine, please check in, please be respectful, any damage comes out of your trust funds, and you know uncle Colin will collect if anything is broken. No offense James." She added quickly.

"None taken, I already have the staff hiding all the valuables."

"Good man." Logan raised his glass in toast to James who made an over dramatic bow. "Alright, fine, go be careful. Don't get in too much trouble."

"On what scale are we talking here? Don't sink a yacht, steal a yacht, or cliff-dive?" Charlotte asked causing Henry to give her a weird look.

"If it's enough to threaten your college career, it's to far."

"Mhm, low bar. We'll try our best dad." With that the group went upstairs to help the siblings pack their bags. Leaving Logan and Rory alone in the kitchen as she poured two cups of coffee.

"We should join them, stay at our place in the Hamptons, hide away from all this bullshit." Logan suggested as he wrapped his arms around Rory's waist putting his head down on her shoulder from behind.

"Logan. We can't, we have to face this." She didn't want to, the thought of a trip up to the Hamptons sounded perfect, escaping from all of this bullshit was the only thing that sounded even moderately appealing, but this wasn't just about business anymore.

Logan groaned as he let go of Rory and took the coffee mug from her hand. "Okay, but I don't want to. It's only gotten worse. And we still can't find out who is spreading misinformation or feeding my dad this bullshit." His voice started to rise, and Rory quickly nodded her head to the stairs to signal for them to wait. "I know, I know, you're right. I'm just going to go back into the office." As he passed by the bottom of the steps he called out his goodbyes to the kids and closed the door to the office.

Rory decided to give him a few minutes of stewing, plus she wanted to wait until the kids left for the week. As they walked downstairs about 20 minutes later she stood up to give them hugs. "Okay, who is driving?"

"James is driving his Escalade; Henry and I are riding in his Range Rover."

"Well, I guess it's better than a motorcycle." Rory mumbled under her breath. "Okay, you guys have a great trip. I love you all. Please check in, at least occasionally. And I would prefer you all home for Conrad's birthday in 9 days. Deal?" The group nodded as they all said their goodbyes Rory stopped Charlotte. "Hey sweets, can you stay back for a minute?" The others left as Charlotte turned to her mom. Rory didn't want to get into too many details, but she did need to send up a red flag, even if it was a subtle one. "Charlie, we know you guys are for the most part responsible, just this week let's be extra careful, okay? No pictures on social media, no getting to wild. Be kids, just be responsible."

"Mom are you sure everything is okay?" Charlotte asked her, it was very rare her mom got like this, not that they had free rein to do whatever they pleased, but her parents usually trusted them. "You know I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize England. I promise, I'll make sure everyone stays as close to the up-and-up as we can. But seriously, is there something I need to worry about?"

Rory hated lying to her daughter but the only thing she could do was give a sad smile and shake her head. "No, just go be kids. Enjoy your last summer before college starts. You'll need the break. Have a good time kiddo."

Charlotte didn't exactly believe her mother, but she didn't have much time, so she gave her mom a hug and walked out the door towards the waiting car.

"Well, no more stalling." She breathed out as she stared down the hallway towards where Logan was undoubtedly going over the stacks from the HPG offices. Logan lost so much of the chip on his shoulder that he had exhibited for so many years but leave it to Mitchum to bring all of that anger back out.

As she opened the door she didn't see the angry Logan she had seen all morning, no, this was worse. This was the broken man that Mitchum left in his wake. This was the vulnerable Logan that only reared its ugly head every so often. Rory walked over to him and knelt down and put her hands over his knees, waiting for him to look up at her. "It's okay babe." She ran her hand along his leg. "It's going to be okay."

"She's innocent. She's 18 and they're just willing to slander her name."

 _Flash back 12 Hours ago._

 _Rory was taking a shower, waiting for Logan to get home from dinner with Colin and Finn when she stepped out after hearing her phone chime, echoing throughout the master bathroom. As she towel dried her hair she grabbed her robe and wrapped it around her along with the phone and looked at the alerts that were now pouring in. Before she had a moment to think about anything she heard the front door slam open and bounding footsteps along with a chorus of voices that seemed to be repeating her inner thoughts. Before she could fully process what was happening there were three figures standing in the doorway of the expansive master bedroom that took over the whole top floor of their home. Logan's eyes matched hers as they both looked over their phones._

" _They're going after Charlie? Are they fucking kidding me?!" Finn spoke up, voicing what was on everyone's mind. "That's what this is saying, right? That the newest Huntzberger heiress is a 'wild-child', a 'disappointment', and I'm pretty sure I read something over Logan's shoulder about her being pregnant?!"_

 _Logan looked up at Rory who had tears in her eyes. "It's him, isn't it? He's doing this to us? No, not even to us, we squashed all those bull shit rumors against you and our marriage, now they're going after to them. What, now she's 18 they think she's fair game?!" Rory's voice got louder with each new sentence and question as she paced their floor._

" _I've already got your legal team working to stop all of it, it hasn't hit presses yet. There's still some time. I don't know how much but there is still time." Colin spoke up, trying to calm down the room._

" _We need to get her out of here, I've never been more thankful that she decided to go to England. I know the news can reach her wherever she is, but I don't want her here in this fishbowl of a city."_

" _They can always go to my house in the Hamptons. I'll subtly suggest that it's open. I mean, I know with their phones and social media they'll be privy to all the gossip if it gets out but then at least they're out of the house."_

 _Logan and Rory sent Colin a thankful smile. "That would be wonderful Colin, thank you so much." Rory sat down on the couch in her room with a thud before looking up at Logan. "We need to fix this, now."_

 _Logan nodded his head. "We'll fix it, I promise."_

" _I hope you guys have more crisis, so we can always barge in on pajama time." Finn said, trying to break the mood. Everyone's eyes gave him a curious look as he pointed to Rory's robe._

" _Conrad wasn't kidding, James is almost as bad as Finn." Logan smirked at Rory who was now heading into her master closet and getting dressed._

 **Back to present time**

They spent the next two days fighting every tabloid story that was threatened to be sold, they both fought tooth and nail with Colin, Finn, Cassie, and Stacy all taking turns checking on them and calling the kids to make sure everything was okay. After almost 60 hours since the news broke Logan looked up at Rory, with all of their friends in the room he simply said, "We have to go confront him. There's no other option Ace." Rory knew that was the only course of action available, but it didn't mean that was a route she was willing to take.

RLRL

They stood at the Huntzberger mansion gates, gates that for so long haunted their relationship, it was there that she was first told she wasn't good enough for his family, it was there that Logan had confrontation after confrontation with his father. These doors didn't look nearly as intimidating with the venom and fire that were building up in each of their guts. With one last squeeze of Rory's hand Logan went to push the doorbell. When a maid answered Logan introduced them. "Hello, we're Mr. and Mrs. Huntzberger, we are looking for Mitchum." Logan's voice was cold as he stood at the door. All the stress of the past two days weighing him down.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Huntzberger is out of town at the moment."

"Where?" A terrible feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

"I don't believe I'm at liberty to say." The maid answered quietly.

"I'm him son, and I am also his boss." Okay, technically a lie as Mitchum had been fired but still. Suddenly he heard Rory gasp and he looked at the text message she was reading. _*Hey mom, Mitchum is in the Hamptons. *_


	33. Chapter 33

**SO 33**

 **A/N: Two Fridays ago, my husband called me and said, "my job just shut it's doors." Do you know what isn't conducive to writing? 3 toddlers, a dog, and a husband at home job searching. This is my long-winded apology for it taking it a while.**

"So, did you ever figure out why Ophelia was mad at you?" James asked as they tossed a football back to each other.

"No. And it's weird because sometimes she is perfectly fine, everything is normal and it will get hot and heavy and we'll hook up and then a few days later she's giving me the cold shoulder."

"How very Katy Perry of her."

Conrad rolled his eyes as he threw the football a little harder, soaring past James' head. "I just don't get it. Probably best to just end it." He shrugged his shoulder and ignored the pit in his stomach. He didn't want to end it. He enjoyed being with her, not in a serious way. But they were good together, they were best friends and not just because their dads were practically brothers, and not because they were both in the core four. But they liked the same music, liked the same books, hell he was positive there was no one in their group that still watched Below Deck like they did. But he couldn't stand always being somehow wrong in her eyes. He had seen the looks she had been giving him, or the way that she would ditch their group some nights with some vague excuse. He used to think she was going out on dates, but Charlie had talked to her and reassured him that it wasn't like that, sometimes she just liked to veg out by herself. No one really bought it, but they allowed the excuse to stay.

"Good luck with that, because either way she'll be pissed off at you." James pointed out and emphasized it with a throw that matched Conrad's from earlier. "Also, can you not do it while we're down here? I'm not in the mood to deal with that drama while we're all stuck in the same house."

"Sure, man wouldn't want my love life to get in the way of your vacation."

"Thank you for understanding." James said dryly before his attention was drawn away from the tossing as he looked up at the driveway. "Who the hell is here?" He asked, while pointing out the black town car that had just drove in. He hadn't noticed Ophelia, Charlie, and Henry walk up from their position on the beach.

"Well, with the way mom coddles the baby over here it's probably them, making sure we got here okay." Charlie said as she bumped into Conrad's shoulder.

"No, I just talked to mom, she said they're working, there's no way it's them." As he said it they watched the town car door open and out walked a man that they had only seen a few times in their life, but they would recognize instantly. "Text mom, now." Conrad whispered as he, Henry, and James made their way back to the house.

RLLRL

Rory watched the Hartford streets pass by her window, she couldn't look at Logan right now, not out of anger, at least not anger at him. No, she couldn't look because she would see the same hurt, same fears, stress, and anger on his face that she was sure was on hers. She passed by the turn off to her grandparent's old manor. It didn't feel real that they didn't live there anymore. How could they not? But no, once her grandfather had passed away her grandmother had sold everything and moved to Cape Cod, she remembered that funeral, Logan, Luke, and Conrad as a few of the Paul Bearers. She remembered her mom, Charlie, and herself holding her grandma up while she muttered something about going first. She remembered watching as everyone around her crumbled and it was up to her to stay strong until that night when Logan wrapped his arms around her in the privacy of their own home and she collapsed. Crying until the early morning hours while he wrapped his arms around her and didn't let go.

It was then that she remembered how strong he had been for her in a family crisis. How he had made her strong and capable and she realized she had to look at him. Even if she was hurting, she was hurting because she was scared for her kids. He was hurting for the same reason but also this was his dad. Rory may not have Christopher often, but he wasn't evil personified and at the very least she had Lorelei and Luke. No, Logan had Honor and that was it, his parents left so much to be desired and she realized it was her turn to be strong for him. With that in mind she grabbed onto his hand as it sat over the gear shift and she could feel him momentarily tense before she finally watched him set his eyes on for a moment and squeeze, before he changed gears and started speeding towards the highway. She sank her head back into the seat and moved her hand to his thigh in a comforting gesture.

RLRLRL

James had alerted Colin, letting him know about the unwelcome guest that was now sitting in their vacation home's driveway while Conrad went up to greet him. "Mitchum, what a surprise." His voice was dry, but you could hear the anger and almost fear in his voice as he said it.

Mitchum turned to face the young man that was standing only a few feet from him, he was shocked by how much he looked like Logan with the exception of his eye color. The build was the same, albeit more muscular than Logan, he had the same confidence when he stood, and the voice was distinctly like Logan's had always been, strong, cocky, arrogant, but always slightly breaking underneath. "Conrad, it's nice to see you young man, you look well."

"Thank you, sir." As he heard his grandfather speak in a softer tone Conrad's voice grew more confident. "May I ask just what the hell you are doing here?"

Mitchum gave a small sardonic chuckle. "My god you remind me of your father. Hopefully with a smaller rap sheet." Conrad's gaze never backed down, it never faltered. "Right, well, I just wanted to check on my grandkids, see how you guys are faring with the news." He put a fake sympathetic face as he said it as he watched Conrad's face momentarily

Conrad's mind started reeling, he had just talked to his parents, he knew they were okay, which meant that everyone that they had truly loved and cared about had to be okay as well. There's no way Lorelei or Luke had passed away and his mom wouldn't have told them. Hell, if that would have happened they would have seen the helicopter landing just on the other side of the lawn with their parents delivering that news in person. Since he couldn't think of anything to terrible he decided to bluff. "Yes, well thank you for your false concern, but as you can see we're doing fine." Conrad watched as an evil Grinch-like smirk crossed Mitchum's face and he felt immediately sick to his stomach.

"Really? It seems like this would be pretty important news, especially to you." Mitchum pulled out his iPad, flipping through a few pictures before he finally landed on the one he wanted, as he was about to show the screen they were interrupted by the sound of the helicopter that Conrad had just had on his mind.

RLRL

Back down on the beach Charlie had gotten a message from her mother informing her that they were on their way but that Colin, Finn and their wives would be there quickly once that was settled she turned to Ophelia and threw her head down on her shoulder. "So much for a nice vacation out here." Ophelia barely muttered an affirmative and silence enveloped the two of them again.

Charlotte was about to try again as she looked up at her brother facing off with her dad's dad, and Henry and James standing back in case of backup. She looked over to see Ophelia's face slightly contorted, as if she was trying to hold back tears, or trying to get herself to not say something that was bubbling underneath the surface. She had noticed the difference in her friend for the past few weeks but had admittedly been selfish and self-absorbed. She was far to excited about Henry and about Oxford to focus on what was going on with others in her life. It was a terrible personality trait, but she couldn't help it. Things with Henry had finally worked out, and she was finally happy, even with the impending moment of her flight itinerary and class schedule she felt she was on solid ground for the first time in a long time. So, she had lived in her happy bubble but now as that bubble was being popped in ways she wasn't sure, yet she finally saw what she had been ignoring all these weeks. One of her best friends was battling something.

"Hey Phi?" Charlotte's voice got timid, resembling her mom's when she was nervous.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry I've been a bad friend, I have my reasons, they're not good enough, but I have them. I won't bore you with them, I'm just sorry." She looked down in shame before she brought her eyes back to Ophelia.

"It's okay. You've been on cloud 9, I wasn't about to bring that down for my petty bullshit."

"Is it something with my brother?" She didn't want to push the subject, but it seemed pretty obvious to everyone who was around them.

"Why would you ask that?" Ophelia's voice immediately became more guarded almost angry, something that was pretty uncommon for the happy-go-lucky, spunky person of the group.

"Because your eyes have barely left the front porch and you look like you want to yell, or cry or something. I know you're not staring at Henry like that because one, I can't imagine what he did to piss you off, and two loyalty. I know you're not looking at James like that because even though we all mildly want to strangle him, we all love in a weird way, and I know that you and my brother just can't quit each other."

"I don't want to quit him." Ophelia's voice got quiet and it cracked ever so slightly. "God, the last thing I want to do is quit him."

"So, then tell him that!"

"Oh sure, 'Hey Conrad! I know that there's a million different people who would ride you like a tilt-a-whirl but pick me, choose me, love me!' I'm not Meredith Grey, Charlie and him and I are not your parents."

"I'm sorry, tilt-a-whirl?" Charlie's face contorted as she registered that.

"Not the time Charlie." Ophelia said in an exasperated tone.

"No, I know, but I just can't get that phrase out of my head. It's like 'it's a small world,' or 'drop it like it's hot.' I just am now stuck with that phrase that is desperately trying to turn itself into a visual and I keep trying to stuff way deep down into the recesses of my mind."

"Oh, nevermind. I shouldn't have even said anything." Ophelia started to walk away as Charlotte chased after her.

"No, I'm sorry you're right. Listen, I don't know exactly what the parameters are of you guys, I mean it never seemed like an all-encompassing 'Gone with the Wind' romance so I guess I just didn't put that much stake into it, which I'm sorry about."

"It's not some all-encompassing thing. I truly don't even know how I feel about it. Which seems super healthy."

"Well, I suggest you talk to him, like really talk to him." She was about to say more before they heard the helicopter and watched as it touched down on the south lawn. "Well, I guess 2/3rds of the cavalry have arrived."

They watched as Colin and Finn made their way to where Mitchum was standing with Conrad and Cassie and Stacey come down to greet their daughter and nieces. It wasn't until they saw Conrad's jaw fall to the floor and heard Finn scream did they all quickly make their way to the top of the hill and onto the front porch.

As they arrived they saw Conrad standing shock-still, luckily due to the nature of the picture on the screen no one was paying attention to him as Finn just kept loudly screaming more curse words than a sailor. It wasn't until Ophelia walked up to the porch did she see what had made her father so angry. There on Mitchum's screen was a picture of her walking out of a Bodega far from anywhere where her family or friends would have been, holding a pregnancy test in her hoodie pocket. Luckily her father had been to caught up in his litany of swears that he didn't notice her arrival, giving her ample time to look over the picture and gave her time to formulate what to say. She softly touched her dad's arm. "Daddy, daddy, I can explain."

Finn spun around and looked at the little girl that he remembered bringing home from the hospital, he saw the little girl who wouldn't wear pigtails for years because she was scared it would hurt pigs, no one had ever understood her logic, but everyone accepted it. He saw the little girl who he took to daddy-daughter dances, but more importantly he saw the girl who now looked broken, scared, and alone. He wanted to yell, and scream, and ask her a million questions but he couldn't because in that moment he felt just as broken and scared as she looked. Without a second thought he hugged her, grabbing his wife who was now crying and bringing her into the hug as well, and for a second, she allowed herself to look over at Conrad who had finally gathered his wits and his eyes met hers she briefly nodded allowing him to understand that it was real. She felt the tears that she had been holding in to finally escape.

Conrad looked at his best friend, at least one of them and wanted to break down right there. But then he looked at the picture that his smug-ass grandfathered had paraded around like it was some piece of fodder for a gossip rag and not some girl's life, not just some girl, but his girl. God, how had he been just thinking of ending things with her? How had he been so selfish that because she wasn't her usual charming self he was about to just throw in the towel on whatever they had?

But then he looked back at that picture and remembered exactly what they had, and he felt himself about to get sick. He had always been told he was the almost perfect blend of his father and Lorelei and here was just irreputable proof. He had done something his Mor Mor had done, with the reckless abandon that his dad had possessed for so many years. Just then the whole of the group turned as they heard the sound of a car coming up the drive, finally completing the group from hell was his parents. He knew they would know immediately that he was the father, Finn may not know but his dad would.

Logan jumped out of the car as he made his way, ready to confront his father. His eyes were focused solely on Mitchum and did not take in the scene that was in front of him. "How dare you come here, you coward. What, you didn't think you could face me? The lawyers? So, instead you decided to come here and try to what? Intimidate my kids? Try to find more dirt to blackmail us using your daughter?! What kind of sick bastard does that? Threatens to slander a young woman to get back at her parents?"

"Dad what are you talking about?" Charlie asked but before he could answer Mitchum let out a bark of laughter that sent chills down everyone's spine.

"I can't believe you fell for that. You think I would waste my time on that bullshit? Please." And then Rory, who had joined the group seconds after Logan finally focused on the picture that was being displayed and she let out a small gasp causing Logan to look down at the tablet and he could feel the anger boiling through his veins.

That's when it all clicked, all of this, the moles at the Hartford office, the fake stories about Charlie, the showing up here, it wasn't because he wanted control of the office or HPG again. No, this was strictly psychological warfare. This was Mitchum realizing he had lost control of everything and trying to find a way back into their lives and into his head again.

Finally, for the first time since they had arrived, Colin asked Mitchum to leave. With a twisted smile Mitchum turned back around. "It would be my pleasure, I believe I'm done here." As they all watched the car leave the circular driveway they all let out the breath they had been holding.

Cassie, Colin's wife finally broke the silence. "I believe we all need a drink."

As most of the group had walked in Logan sent Conrad a look that he couldn't quite read. There was anger, there was disappointment but there was also a look of almost pain and questioning. However, the questioning was soon alleviated as Conrad gently nodded his head yes, still not quite sure he believed it all himself. Conrad watched his mom stifle a sob as they walked in. Before he made it into the doors though he stopped Ophelia. "Is this why things have been weird between us?"

Her eyes darted around to make sure everyone had gone inside. "Not here Conrad!" She whispered out through gritted teeth.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've supported you, I would have been there for you, hell I still plan to if you're still…" He trailed off, not sure how to put those thoughts into words.

"I am… still." She whispered out again, this time her voice much softer.

"How long have you known?"

She shook her head again. "Conrad, I meant it when I said, not here."

"No! If we're going to go in there and deal with this then I get to hear how long you've known that I was apparently going to be a father and you couldn't find 5 minutes to tell me."

"Three weeks." She hung her head shame.

"Three weeks?! Three weeks?! We've been together alone a hell of a lot over three weeks for you to not find the time to tell me!" They both had more to say but Charlotte appeared in the open doorway.

"Um, everyone is wondering where you two are." She said it awkwardly as she looked at the two of them, it looked like she was about to say more before she thought better of it and turned to walk back into the estate.

"Fine, we'll talk about this later." He was about to walk off, about to storm in and leave her standing on the porch, until he saw her, with tears in her eyes and before he knew it he had wrapped his arms around her and enveloped her in a hug that lasted a few seconds longer than they actually had. He kissed the top of her head and grabbed her hand as they walked through the doorway.

 **A/N: Please don't kick me.**


	34. Chapter 34

**SO 34**

Colin poured everyone in their group a drink of their choice while they waited for the kids to come into the living room where they were all situated. Every few minutes they would hear Stacey stifle a sob, trying to come to terms with what had just happened, the life-changing bomb that had dropped with no warning, no preamble, just a bomb falling into their laps. As far as she, Finn, Colin and Cassie knew it was just changing Ophelia's life, however in the haze of everything no one noticed Rory trying to hold back tears, or Logan's face which was so crinkled in worry it made him look much older than his 40 years.

"I just…" Finn started again but trailed off, interrupted by another one of his wife's sobs breaking through. As an instinct he grabbed onto her hand and brought her closer. "It will be alright, it will have to be alright." He whispered in her ear. Just then they heard a throat clearing and looked up to see James, Henry, and Charlotte standing at the entrance to the doorway.

Colin walked over with sodas in his hand and handed it to the three of them. As James took a drink quickly, he wasn't expecting to feel such a burn on his throat, he raised an eyebrow to his dad. "I know you all drink, I figure we could all use a little something after dealing with Mitchum." Colin explained in a whisper. It wasn't his best parenting move, by a long shot, but today felt like a fucked-up day as it was and the last thing he was going to do was make them all go through it sober, with the exception of Ophelia that is, which is when he realized she hadn't joined the group and neither had Conrad, suddenly he looked over at Rory and Logan. He saw the worry on Logan's face, he saw the tears in Rory's eyes and then those eyes connected with Colin's and slowly all the puzzle pieces fit. He felt his stomach lurch as he looked at his two best friends, for as long as they could remember it was the three of them and now here were two of them stuck in this situation that no one could help.

"Can you go get Ophelia and Conrad? I feel like both of them need to be in here." Colin's voice was soft as he asked Charlotte to go but in the almost completely silent room it carried and suddenly Finn's head shot up and Charlotte hurried her footsteps.

"Why would Conrad need to be in here?" His eyes darted to everyone in the room, Colin, Logan, Rory, and the rest of the kids all diverted their eyes as Charlotte made her way back into the room. She grabbed James and Henry's arms as she addressed the rest of the group.

"We're going to go into town, is that okay?" She was now very thankful she hadn't had any of her 'soda' and could drive. When none of the adults answered immediately, she looked over to her mom, her beautiful, strong, smart mother who always looked like she could conquer the world and saw someone who looked completely lost. "Mom? Is that okay?"

Rory cleared her throat, "Of course you guys, just be careful." With a fake smile she dismissed the group just as she Conrad and Ophelia enter with conjoined hands, she turned just in time to see Logan fall onto the seat next to her as he saw what she did. What she hadn't been expecting was Finn's outburst.

"NO!"

"Dad!"

"I told you guys months ago! I told whatever we had witnessed before that it had to end and you swore! You swore that it was a momentary lapse in judgement, so what was this?! Another lapse in judgement?! Or have you been hiding this from us? From all of us?!" Finn was back on his feet pacing the room.

"Uncle Finn—" Conrad stopped just as suddenly as Finn's feet stopped, he watched his uncle, the man who had been there his whole life turn to him with the meanest stare he had ever seen and for the first time since he walked in that room Conrad actually took a step back.

"You do not call me Uncle Finn, you will call me sir for the rest of your life, do you hear me?"

"DAD!"

"No, Phi, it's okay. Sir, I just found out about this, and I'm so sorry. I'd like to be honest with you. Ophelia and I have been dating, admittedly not only each other but we have." Conrad spoke with an even voice. "We did not plan this, we did not mean for this to happen, but I will still do whatever takes to take care of this baby, Phi too. Now, I understand you're upset and there will be a hundred more of these talks and lectures and screams and I will take all of them because I deserve them. But sir, I really need to talk to Ophelia, I found out when you did and quite frankly, I have questions, can we please be excused?"

Finn stared, unblinking for a few moments before he turned to Logan. "He gets that from you." At Logan's questioning glance Finn elaborated. "The ability to talk down a crisis, he gets it from you." He turned back to the two teenagers. "You guys may go."

Once all the kids were gone Colin and Cassie excused themselves and Logan finally found his voice. "Finn, what the hell are we going to do?"

"Tonight, we're going to drink, go to our own rooms, discuss this with our wives and tomorrow try to tackle it, because right now all I can picture is the little girl who ran around this yard catching fireflies during the summer, and the little runt who would pull her hair."

RLRLRL

Logan and Rory walked upstairs and closed the door to their room and within seconds Rory had fallen onto the bed with her head in her hands. "Well, here we thought Charlie was going to kill this summer with her leaving."

"Lose a daughter across the pond, gain a possible granddaughter?" Logan said, with a small smile.

"Oh, are we at the stage where we can make jokes? Because I had so many 'like mother in law- like father- like son' jokes that will be great once this all becomes more peaceful."

"Hey! How is he like me?"

"Well, the fact that your son just admitted to the girl who impregnated dad that they weren't even fully a couple was a notch in the Logan Huntzberger column." She smiled at him.

"Touché." They were both quiet for a few minutes longer.

"She looked terrified, and so small, and I remembered what Finn was talking about, how we used to watch those 2, hell, all 4 of them." Logan shook his head as he thought about what Rory had said. "I remember back at Yale, just a bit after we had gotten back together and moved in with each other, before the Valentine's Day Trip, I thought I was pregnant." Logan's head shot up, they had been together all of these years and he had never heard this story. "I wasn't, I mean, obviously. But I remember how at least I knew I had you, I knew that we were on stable ground and we had the resources to take care of it. You were a few months out from graduating, granted I didn't know about London yet, but I knew that we were at least in a position where it wouldn't have been the worst thing possible. But Ophelia? She's gone how long being terrified? Of battling this alone? Of being in high school and facing it? I just remember how even though it wasn't the worst thing that would have happened if we had gotten pregnant, I was still constantly a wreck, even when I found out about Charlotte and Conrad, I was terrified, and we were definitely more stable each of those times. I don't know, I just feel for her. She should have told Conrad, I know. But the thought of dealing with that alone." Rory ended her ramble with a sigh.

"I can't believe you never told me." Logan finally said with a sense of bewilderment to his voice.

"It was a fleeting thought, the stress of all the editor changes, and Paris, and moving in with you. It was a lot and it messed up my cycle." She shrugged it off, but she was kind of surprised by his hang-up.

"I get it, I just would have supported you, you know, that right?" His face looked scrunched up in worry.

"Logan, we've been married for 18 years, I know you're a loyal guy." She got up to run her hands up his arms and hold him closer to her. "Hey, what's wrong?" He gave her an incredulous look, causing her to slightly laugh. "Okay, besides the fact that we'll be grandparents in our early forties, actually before forty for me." Both of their eyes went wide as they said this, not fully ready to accept that harsh reality.

"Hm, let's not ever say that again, okay?" Logan asked as she nodded her head earnestly.

"But seriously, what's going on?"

"What if Conrad doesn't step up? Or what if Ophelia tries to push him out? Or we lose Finn and Stacey as friends?" His voice slightly cracked at the last one.

"Finn is not giving up on your friendship, he's scared, his little girl isn't his little girl anymore. Let him take tonight to process, we can all discuss it tomorrow." Just then there was a knock on their door and Rory untangled herself from Logan's arms and went to answer the door and opened it to reveal Finn standing there with Colin.

"Want to take this to the den downstairs?" Finn asked, Logan nodded, and they all left down the hallway while Rory closed the door behind them and fell on her bed. _So, let's see, today I went to go track down Mitchum, thought my daughter was in danger, took the jet to the Hamptons, only to find out that my soon-to-be 17-year-old son is now going to be a father._ She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her cell-phone ringing.

"I like the new ringtone."

"Well, I figure, you'll always know it's me." Lorelei chirped out.

"The fact that you call 4 times a day is enough to know it's usually you."

"My god, you're grumpy. What's wrong?"

"Well, considering I'm suddenly walking in shoes that look an awful lot like Emily Gilmore's do, I have the right to be grumpy."

"Then just get new shoes, unless you mean Charlie's pregnant, but I don't hear sirens in the background letting me know that Logan keeled over so it couldn't be that."

"No, it's not Charlie." Rory deadpanned. She heard her mom gasp and then commotion like the phone dropped. Rory didn't even have the energy to call out to her, figuring her mother would come back on the line in a minute, sure enough after a few beats of silence she heard her mother pick up the phone.

"So, are you telling me that you're actually wearing Francine Hayden's shoes?"

"Except I doubt Conrad will turn his back on his kid, and I won't call this baby a mistake, yep, it looks like we're wearing the same size."

"Oh god kid, I'm so sorry." Lorelei had originally just called to check in, she knew about the drama they were facing with Mitchum, but she didn't expect this to be the direction the conversation would head in. "How is he taking it? How is Logan doing? Oh god, who is the girl? Is it…?" She trailed off.

"Yep. It's her. He's taking it as calmly as possible, he found out when we all did which didn't help matters. Logan, Colin, and Finn are all downstairs drinking the memory of tonight away. I've holed myself up in the room and we're reconvening tomorrow morning." She let out a breath. "Conrad and Ophelia are discussing things, Charlotte was smart enough to get James and Henry out of here. All-in-all everyone is just hiding in their own ways and I guess we will face the music tomorrow."

"God, here I thought Charlotte leaving was going to be the worst thing this summer."

"Yeah, you and me both."

"Well, can I offer you a piece of advice from the one who was on the opposite end of this scandal?"

"Not really how I'm looking at this whole debacle but sure."

"Don't force them into anything. Don't go in there tomorrow making them sign prenups and dowry agreements. Just go in there and try to be as open-minded as possible. Because unfortunately whatever happens when emotions are high, tends to stick in cases like these." Rory was silent for a few minutes before her mom spoke again. "I love you, kid. Try to get some rest." Rory just nodded her head, not fully realizing that her mother wouldn't see the gesture when she heard the click of the phone, she set hers down and decided that she would go to Stacey's room to see if her and Cassie would be up for sharing the burden of this news as well.

As she made her way down the hall, she heard crying coming from one of the rooms, it was out of her way, but she couldn't help but change directions as she quietly walked down the hallway to listen in. "It's okay."

"How can you say that Conrad?! You're mad at me, my parents are mad at me, your parents are mad too. How can you say it's okay?!"

"I'm not mad at you okay. Yes, I wish you would've told me. I wish I wouldn't have found out from my estranged grandfather that one of my best friends was carrying my kid, and your parents are mad, shocked, bewildered, confused, maybe even disappointed, yes but I don't think they could ever really stay mad. Maybe the same with my parents too. I don't know I haven't talked to them, but it doesn't mean that we still won't figure this out."

"I'm not marrying you Conrad." Rory thought she sounded mad until she peaked in and saw that Ophelia had buried her face in his chest.

"Not exactly the leap I was taking there either Phi." He joked as he stroked her hair calmly. "I love you, not in the sweep-you-off-your-feet, can't breathe without you kind of love. But I do love you. I do want to be with you."

"I don't love you like that either."

"At least not yet." He whispered causing her to cry harder and Rory to take her leave, making her way down to the staircase and climbing it up to Cassie and Colin's room.

RLRL

The next morning 6 adults, all battling hangovers were sitting around the table eating tacos, burritos, waffles, and fruit. Finally, Rory spoke up. "I don't think they should get married." She had talked about it with the women last night and they had agreed, but she wasn't sure they still would when the light-of-day hit.

"I agree." Finn said, surprising everyone at the table, not that they thought he'd be pushing for marriage, but they didn't expect him to be able to say anything calmly. "I don't know who will stay where, I don't know how we'll divide custody." Stacey put her hand on Finn's in a calming gesture and he looked up at her.

"I don't think those are our decisions anymore love." She said to him softly and when she did, she nodded her head in the direction of the doorway where Conrad and Ophelia were standing once again.

RLRLRL

The rest of the morning was spent trying to think of logistics for the two soon-to-be-parents. After a very short discussion they realized that Conrad and Ophelia and already decided they were keeping it, and that was something neither one of them would budge on. Rory and Logan hadn't said anything, but they were both glad, an emotion that seemed to cross over everyone's faces as well. After that lunch they decided to disperse to their own rooms so everyone could get packed and they would end this ill-fated vacation early. As Conrad was packing his bag there was a knock on his door.

"Come in!"

"So, I'm going to be an Aunt?" Charlotte asked as she made her first appearance since yesterday afternoon.

"An Absent Aunt." Conrad smirked at her, thankful for the first reprieve from the questioning and the planning of the adults.

"Do be a Doting, Dutiful dad though."

"Well, at least we can teach it alliteration."

"Maybe don't call your child an it. I'm pretty sure they will get a complex or something." She said as she started re-folding the clothes he had haphazardly thrown in his suitcase. "How are you holding up little brother?"

"I didn't realize it was possible to be so scared of something that was the size of a fingernail." He breathed out. "I mean, we've seen mom and dad with fire in their eyes and pure anger written all over their faces, and it still never scared me as much as this does."

"Yeah, well, I've heard kids can do that to you. Thankfully, I have no experience." She smiled at him. "I actually paid attention in sex-ed."

Logan and Rory were coming to Conrad's room to make sure he was ready to go when they heard the tail-end of the conversation. Logan pushed open the door further as they walked in. "Well, at least that makes one of our kids."

"Yes, at least one learned how to pay attention in school like me, unlike someone who learned how to sleep with their eyes open like you." Rory said as she started helping fold the clothes. "Guys, we really have to get home. It's been a hell of a 24 hours and I'm ready to leave."

As they all made their way downstairs Conrad felt a hand on his shoulder and he was being pulled behind, when he finally was stopped, he turned to see Finn towering over him. "I'm still your Uncle Finn, but so help me god if you call me Grandpa."

"Duly noted." Conrad said with a serious tone, not knowing how truthful Finn was being at this moment, causing Finn to send him a small, lopsided smile before turning on his heel and walking out to the waiting cars.


	35. Chapter 36

**SO 35**

 **a/n: Thank you all for indulging me!"**

"Dad!" Charlie walked into her mom and dad's office she got home.

"What's up kid?"

"Mom's doing stress yoga again." Charlie said with a smile.

"Did you get your phone?" Logan asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Of course, I did. I will never understand how someone can be doing yoga for 16 years have so little balance."

"It's a skill only your mother can possess I promise you. Thank god she looks good doing it."

"Dad, I'm right here. Literally two steps down from you, can you maybe not?"

"Charlie, after the incident at your graduation party and the, hmm, how do I put this delicately, love child that is happening with your brother and your best friend, maybe don't cast the first stone?" Logan looked at her with a smirk, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness to his statement.

"Fair point, forget I said anything. Now, let's hurry up before we miss the fall that makes her finally throw in the towel." Charlotte conceded as she ran up the stairs past her father. As they made it into Rory and Logan's bedroom they had just missed her falling but saw her with a sour expression on her face as she sat on the ground and cursed her yoga mat. "Aw, man. I knew we were going to miss it." Charlotte whined as she put her iPhone back in her pocket, not having time to take the picture.

Rory looked up with a glare as she moved to get up, Logan came over and offered her hand which she swatted away. Logan couldn't help but smirk at her as she sighed in resignation before grabbing his hand and pulling him down to fall next to her. "Are we in a cheesy rom-com? Because you've got the bumbling ditzy heroine act down to a science." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, it depends. If we were in a cheesy rom-com shouldn't you be leaning in slowly to kiss me while some over clichéd pop song plays in the background."

"I can ask Alexa to start a playlist?" Logan smiled as he started to lean down closer to her slowly. Even after all these years, hell, even after this past summer which was throwing their whole lives into a tailspin, he couldn't help but want to be near her. Want to still wake up to her every morning, want to kiss her like he did all those years ago. Suddenly though any of those thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Good god you guys. I'm going downstairs and away from whatever this is." Charlotte scoffed as she walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She could barely hear her parents laugh in the background as she descended onto the second floor and almost ran into her brother.

"Where you are going skippy?" Conrad asked as he walked out of his room and watched as his sister made her way past him. He checked his pockets to make sure that he had his wallet, keys, and phone as he followed her down the hall.

"Getting away from mom and dad." She answered as she continued walking past him.

"A skill I've been desperately trying to perfect over the years, especially the last few weeks. Why the sudden hurry to get away from them now though?"

"Mom's doing stress yoga again." She answered as they made their way into the kitchen and she grabbed a water bottle out of the refrigerator.

"Let me guess, she pulled him down when he tried to help her up?" Conrad asked with a smirk.

"Are we that predictable babe?" Logan asked as him and Rory came into the kitchen behind their kids.

"Yes." Conrad and Charlotte answered simultaneously.

"Hey, you're looking fancy. Where are you headed?" Rory asked looking over at Conrad who was dressed in a nice button up and khaki pants. Things were still awkward, the undercurrent of the situation still on everyone's mind but they didn't allow it to creep into every conversation, most days there was that light heartedness that was always prevalent but some days there was more tension. Luckily today was one of the calmer days. It had been 4 weeks since they came back from the Hamptons. Charlie was leaving in 5 weeks for London. The three sets of adults had started having dinner together every Saturday, it was something they did pretty frequently but now it was more needed. They didn't know how it suddenly became mandatory but it was and they were all pretty thankful for it. Ophelia, Conrad, James, Henry and Charlotte still hung out like not much had changed but now there were more small touches between Conrad and Ophelia, he was always within arms reach of her trying to protect her.

"I'm… um…" Conrad got nervous. He was enjoying the lightheartedness that had taken residence in the kitchen and he knew that the information he was about to drop would make the anvil drop.

"Conrad I swear to God if it's a date." Charlie said as she watched her brother flounder. Suddenly Logan and Rory looked upset too. There's no way he'd do that right? He wouldn't just—

But before they could go down that rabbit hole Conrad hurriedly stopped that train of thought. "No! No! God, no! It's just Phi has a doctor's appointment today and I want to be at every one so I'm going. My god Charlie, I know I've been a cad in the past, but come on."

"Hey, you've got priors."

"Not in this exact situation I don't."

"Oh, you mean you don't have another love child running around the city? Well, thank god for that." Charlotte deadpanned. Conrad was right, the anvil was dropped.

"Guys, stop it now. Conrad, I think you better go pick Ophelia up. Charlotte, go do whatever you it is you were doing." Logan said through gritted teeth while he cracked his neck from side-to-side. This was one of the downsides of being able to work from home. They were here to witness most of these fights. He looked over at Rory who just looked exhausted. As he watched his kids leave the kitchen and off to their own separate lives he reached over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey beautiful."

She couldn't help but smile at him as he said it. "Hey handsome."

"What if I took my favorite wife to dinner?" He smirked down at her as he watched her face twist into false indignation.

"Your favorite wife?! How many more are there?"

"Well, there's Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina, Sandra, Mary, and Jessica. But you're still my favorite."

"Well Lou Bega, how can I turn down a wonderful offer like that?"

"If you turn it down, we can always just go back to what we were doing previously in the bedroom? That was way more fun."

"I don't know, I think you need to call Rita for something like that." She winked at him as she grabbed his hand and they made their way upstairs to get ready for their night out.

He watched her head into their master bathroom and start the shower, he grabbed his laptop to finish up the work he had been working on. He spent a few hours on the budgets, before there was a knock on his door and Charlie poked her head in. "I'm leaving for the night. Henry and I are doing dinner and then a play."

"Okay, your mom and I are going out soon anyway." He answered her without looking up from what he was working on.

"Okay." She still stood in the doorway and he looked up finally.

"What's going on Charlie?"

"I'm sorry, about earlier." Her voice was small as she said it. She had tried to use the innocent voice but she realized quickly that wasn't going to work.

"Just remember, this isn't an easy situation for any of us. But especially not for your brother and your best friend." He met her gaze before she averted her eyes. "Your mom is having a hard time with you leaving, your brother and Ophelia, not to mention trying to write and work. If you're going to make smart ass comments, make them somewhere else."

"You're right." She still hadn't looked up.

"Have a good night Charlie."

"You too dad." Just then Rory walked out of the bathroom, in a figure hugging red dress, black stiletto heels, and pin straight hair. "Yep, looks like you're in for a really good night." She joked as she nodded her head toward where Rory was standing.

"Good night Charlie." They both stated as he walked over to where she was standing. "Wow, I guess I can't wear basketball shorts and a wife beater."

"When have you ever wore anything like that?"

"With the other wives, they allow me to let my hair down." He answered as he kissed her.

"What a pity for them, they don't realize what they're missing out on."

"Well, if I'm going to escort a beautiful woman like yourself, I should probably go get cleaned up." He felt her lightly slap his butt as he walked into their master closet. A few moments later he emerged wearing black slacks, a red button down shirt and a black tie to match. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him adjust his tie.

"Damn, you clean up nice."

"I've got your event integrity right here Mrs. Huntzberger."

"I'm glad I got the cleaned up version of you. Now, please tell me you're craving steak as well."

"I think, even if I wasn't it would be best for my health if I was."

"You're a smart man."


	36. December 3rd Update

**SO 36**

 **Not sure what happened. I deleted the authors note and it may have screwed things up. Anyway, here is the next chapter.**

Conrad paced in front of the house that he had spent so much time in, he knew this house, he knew the different ways to sneak in, where Uncle Finn kept the good liquor, which stairs creaked the loudest and he had to avoid. But he hadn't been back to this house since before they went to Hamptons and now there was a terrifying feeling of dread in his stomach as he realized he had to face the man who was like a second dad to him as he picked up his daughter for a doctor's appointment to check on their baby. The thought made Conrad feel like he was going to throw up. He did everything he could to push that feeling down as he walked up the 5 stairs to the wrought-iron gate that stood guard in front of the heavy mahogany door. Fighting against every possible instinct he had in him he pushed the doorbell and waited for a few moments before the door opened.

"Good afternoon Conrad." Finn answered the door and stepped aside, letting Conrad in. "I'm assuming you're here for Ophelia?"

"Um, yes sir. She has a doctor's appointment I was planning on taking her to, we talked about meeting there, but it seemed ridiculous when I could easily take her and make sure she gets there and home safely." Conrad's voice cracked for a minute under the pressure of the foyer turned pressure cooker he was standing in. He couldn't make eye contact with Finn, even if he felt like he should he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Conrad." Finn sighed as he realized there was no easy way around this, he had been around Conrad since the news broke, but this was just the two of them. "Conrad, I watched my best mate in the world meet a girl one day that tore into him, I watched as he started to like her, and then love her and then decide to marry her. I watched a genuine love story fall into place, and all I wanted was for my little girl to eventually find someone that loves her like that."

"Sir I—" Conrad tried to interrupt, with what he wasn't sure, but he tried.

"I'm not saying you don't love Phi, I know you do. The 4 of you guys love each other in a protective, band-of-brothers and sisters, type of way and for that I'm thankful. But my daughter, I just want her to be happy and right now, right now I hear so much crying, so much of her getting sick, so much of her trying to figure out her life and while I can be upset at the situation, I can't be fully upset at her, so instead I have to focus all this disappointment, all of this anger and frustration on you. Now, since I know you care about her, and love her in a way that is good enough for right now, I have no reason to take my anger out on you, but just know that you're toeing a very fine line. And your father has already given me permission to punch you if I see fit." He added the last part as a small joke that Conrad smiled politely at while also battling the urge to gulp heavily.

It was silent for a few moments before Ophelia walked around the corner and into the foyer, she motioned to the door as Conrad opened it for her. "Goodbye dad." She said with a small smile as she walked out into the heat.

Before Conrad walked out, he turned to Finn speak one more time. "I am doing everything I can to protect her, sir. I may not be doing everything right, but I'm trying."

"It's still Uncle Finn, good luck at the appointment today." And with that Conrad closed the door behind him.

RLRLRLRL

"Logan, there was a crisis with some of the writers that I have to smooth over, I figured since the writing was more my side of things, I would let you sleep in. Anyway, should be home by dinner, if I find you shirtless while basting a lemon chicken, it wouldn't be the worst thing to come home to. ;) I love you, you handsome man, Rory." Logan read the note as he walked downstairs, he smiled as he got to the part about dinner. Well, at least that part is figured out for the evening. Once he got downstairs, he looked at the clock, seeing it was already 9 a.m., he always tried to be up by 5, and in his home office by 6:30, or his downtown office by 7 at the latest, so today was a nice bonus morning. It helped he was exhausted by the date that they had went on the night before and then enjoyment of having an empty house after the date.

He made himself coffee as he grabbed the newspaper to read it, perusing the headlines as he waited for his cup to be done. He looked over to the stove and saw that there were muffins sitting on top and he reached for one, when he heard shuffling coming from the steps, he got another ready and poured two mugs of coffee. Sure enough, a mere moment later, Conrad came prodding into the kitchen wiping his face and trying to adjust his eyes. "Morning Con."

"Mhm." Conrad answered before he grabbed the coffee and started drinking it, finally coming to recognize his surroundings. "Morning dad." They sat there in a comfortable silence for a bit before Conrad spoke again. "So, quiet morning, huh?"

"Barbie and Ken went to dinner and to see Hamilton last night, and since Henry's place is closer to Broadway they stared there for the night. Your mom had a work thing to deal with and had to go into the office this morning, so I suppose you're just stuck with me today."

Conrad shuffled his feet under the table, there wasn't much he couldn't talk to his dad about before, but now that wasn't the case. Admittedly he had been living in a constant state of before and after. How his life looked before and how it looks now.

"How did the appointment go yesterday?" Logan finally broke the second silence that had descended upon them.

"Um, it went well."

"Did you hear the heartbeat?" Logan was having such a hard time with all of this, not knowing how to talk about it all but remembering how much he had needed to talk to someone when he was faced with the reality of being a dad. Conrad looked shocked as he heard his dad's question and before he could say anything Logan continued. "Did we ever tell you what happened when we found out about you?" Conrad mutely shook his head, not wanting to press his luck with his dad opening up. "Charlie had just turned 9 months old, I mean like just turned 9 months old. Your mom, god she had been amazing with Charlie, she took the new role as a mom and just kicked ass and took names. I was working like crazy, your mom was working from home writing, and our lives were just a mess. One day I came home, and your mom just couldn't stop crying, I thought something had happened, I thought that Lorelai was ill, or someone had passed away. But then my almost unflappable wife informed me that she was crying because I had taken the last of her cookies to work." Logan broke off his story for a moment to laugh to himself. Conrad watched his dad and noticed that he was in his own little world. "I mean she was just beside herself, and I didn't even think she realized it, hell I had stopped at the bakery on my home to get her some extra anyway. And when I told her that fact and presented the cookies to her, she started a new wave of crying. She couldn't help herself, finally when she calmed down, she wiped the tears from her eyes and sheepishly apologized before telling me that it must be the baby making her so emotional."

"So, she wasn't that upset about the cookies?"

"Oh, no. She was very mad, still brings it up sometimes in arguments as well and it was over 17 years ago. The cookies aren't even the point, the point is, I was terrified. Here was this woman whom I loved more than anything, and a little girl crawling around and they both depended on me, and they both needed me, and we were busy and stressed and now was this new person coming in who was also going to need me. And god Conrad, I wanted to vomit. Being a parent wasn't a new thing for me, but it didn't stop me from being terrified out of my mind at the thought of you. And we were established, your mom and I, we were married, I had a great job, we both had money, but I still was terrified. I'm saying all of this because you aren't established, being a parent is a new thing for you, and you're young. I'm saying all of this because I want you to know that you have someone in your corner. Your mom, she's trying but she's not there yet. Your sister is leaving, James doesn't get it, and while I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, it doesn't mean that I'm not here for you in the ways I can be."

Conrad finally met his dad's eyes, finally felt like he could breathe, and without thinking he grabbed his phone and opened it up, pulling up the picture and pushing the phone toward his dad. "Can you just help me figure what the hell I'm looking at?"

RLRLRL

"Honey, I'm home!" Rory called out as she walked through the back door leading into the kitchen. It was 8:30, way later than Rory had meant to come home but it turned out that the issue wasn't as cut and dry as she had hoped. As she closed the door, she turned around to see Logan, shirtless, holding a plate out to her. "While this isn't a wonderful sight, and trust me it is, didn't I say I wanted you basting the chicken when I got home?" She took the plate out of his hand as she went to hug him.

"I would've been basting it had you gotten home closer to our actual dinner time, however, since you insisted on being late you'll just have to live with me serving you dinner shirtless and live out your butler fantasy instead of your Bobby Flay fantasy." Logan leaned down to kiss her.

"It's Gordon Ramsey." Rory spoke into the kiss, catching Logan off guard as he laughed.

"What?!"

"My cooking fantasy, it's Ramsey, not Flay."

"Because of the accent?"

"And all that colorful language."

"Well, I did pick up some of that language and accent when I went to London, you do remember that right?"

"Of course, I do, why do you think the sex was so much better when you got home?" She asked him as she broke away from him and made her way to the plate to heat up her food.

"I thought the sex was better because you missed me, and you couldn't wait to show me how much you missed me!" Logan spoke, pretending to be offended by her.

"Oh no, not at all, strictly the new twinge in your voice and the new language you picked up."

"Come on! The British accent cannot work that much, can it?" Logan asked as Rory sat down at the table and Logan sat at the table next to her. He watched as Charlotte and Henry walked downstairs.

"No, the British accent definitely works that well, I wouldn't be dealing with the millionth season of Doctor Who if it weren't for that accent alone." Charlotte responded, grabbing a green bean off of her mother's plate and eating it.

"It's true, honestly it's not the fact that she'll be a 6-hour plane ride away that keeps me up at night, it's the fact that she will be surrounded by that accent all the time." Henry spoke up as he stood next to Charlotte.

"Aw, I'd say you have nothing to worry about, but sometimes you just might." Charlotte leaned in to him with her head on his shoulder as she said it.

"Damn, guess I have to show you off while I still have you, don't I?" Henry asked as they started to make their way to the back door, heading out for the evening.

"You lot are bloody crazy." Logan said with a smirk as he shook his head.

"See, and now I just want to jump your bones, it totally works!" Rory smiled at him as she continued eating. "Seriously babe, this food is amazing, thank you."

"Well, I was instructed, it must be so nice to have a spouse that can cook for you, isn't it?" He asked her with a gleam in his eye.

"Yes, my own little Donna Reed, tell me though, did you have an impure thought about me?" She asked after she finished the last bite and winked at him as she got up to put her plate in the sink but before she knew what was happening, she was pinned against the counter with her front facing the counter when she felt Logan lean in closer.

"Oh, you have no idea the amount of impure thoughts I've had about you Ace." She could hear and feel Logan's growl as he trapped her in her position. Rory took a deep breath as she leaned in to Logan and moaned slightly.

"I'd love to hear all about it, baby." She moaned before she got a wicked grin and she pushed herself off of the counter and away from him. "But, the crisis at work was a little bit more of a mess and we really need to look over the budget again." She smiled as she grabbed his hand and they went towards the office.


	37. So- Oxford Part 1

**SO- Oxford Part 1**

"Tomorrow, huh?" Henry asked as he and Charlotte walked down the New York streets. He was holding her close, not willing to let her go, especially since they would be with their friends all night tonight and around her parents tomorrow at the air strip.

"Yep, tomorrow." Her voice cracked a bit as she said it. "Do you regret it?"

"Regret it?"

"You know, telling me you love me at my graduation party, us committing, only for me to leave tomorrow?" She didn't want to ask but she had wondered, she didn't regret being with him, she didn't regret the past summer, but it didn't make today hurt any less, and sometimes she regretted that she didn't save herself that pain.

He sighed and groaned a bit as he decided to answer. "I don't regret being with you, I don't regret loving you. I regret the fact I want to tell you not to go, I regret that I gave up on so many months without you because I was stubborn, I regret the fact that no matter how much I love you tonight is our last night together." His heart broke as he said it, knowing that this wasn't how he wanted this to happen and when she looked up at him, with her dark brown eyes filled with tears and a questioning look he couldn't help but feel awful. "Lee, about a month ago I was at a jewelry store picking out a beautiful promise ring, had it in my hand, and when I went to hand it back to the sales woman to wrap it up so I could give it to you, the words couldn't come out. Instead I walked away from it. Not because I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore but because I can't hold you back while you're gone. I can't allow myself to be the reason you stay in from a party because you feel you have to check in with me. It's not just long distance like New Haven to New York, it's the big leagues. We could make it, I'm sure we could if we stayed together. But how much of that time is going to be voicemails, or text messages, or emails? How much is going to be ignoring the world around us just to check in with each other? That's not fair to either of us."

"So, let me get this straight, we're supposed to be having a party tonight to say goodbye to me and you decided to break up with me?!" She screeched as they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, just a few minutes from their destination.

"It's not like I want to Lee! But what am I supposed to do?"

"You were the one that believed in us, you were the one that told me you loved me, you chased me down first! How are you ending this right now?! How are you doing this to me, to us?"

"It's for you!" Henry pleaded as he tried to wrap his arms around her.

"Oh, fuck you, stop using me as an excuse, you want your wide-open space to stick your head under any girl's skirt you see."

"Hey! That's not fair! It's not like I don't want to be with you Charlotte! Plus, it's not like you would know if I cheated anyway!" _Oh god, oh god, oh god, that is not what I meant to say, that is not how this was supposed to go, why did I say that? Who took out my fucking filter? Her eyes have now developed that lethal look and I'm pretty sure I've completely ruined everything._

Charlotte's hold on the last shred of sanity and reason for this conversation left as he said that, and the next thing she knew she was laughing so deeply it hurt. "I'm sorry, it's not like I would know?" She had tears streaming down her face and she didn't know if it was from sadness or the laughing. "That's the parting words you want to leave me with?" She glared at him as she finally stopped the laughing and the crying. "Goodbye Henry Dugrey." And with that she stormed down the few blocks to where the party was.

The moment she walked in the door Rory spotted her. "Charlie, what's wrong?"

"It's just really weird that I'm leaving here tomorrow." She answered with a false smile and a lie that came way to easily. She was thankful the excuse of missing everyone worked so well today. She would need it. However, Rory wasn't buying it.

"So, no Henry tonight?" She felt Charlotte slightly shudder next to her. "We can wallow tonight, just us girls okay?" Charlotte let a few tears through as Rory squeezed her into a hug.

"LOVE! LOVE JR!" They heard Finn before they saw him, and Rory leaned into Charlotte.

"Good luck kiddo and try to enjoy the party as much as possible." And with that Rory made her way over to Logan.

"Hey you!" She gave him a small kiss on his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in front of him.

"Hey babe, this party is great, do you just have a knack for British themed parties? At least this one doesn't include a wig."

"Oh my god, that was one time I wore a wig."

"In public." He huskily whispered into her ear and which point she slapped his chest and went to push him away, but he held her tighter.

"Listen, I need to head out for a bit, but I'll be back in time for the cake, okay?"

"Um, yeah, but is everything okay?" He asked her as started swaying her to the music that was playing.

"Yeah, just look around and see who is excluded from the guest list tonight." She watched as he glanced around the room before finally finding Charlie.

"Wow, the super glue connecting them finally wore off?" He asked with a semi-joking tone.

"Yes, well apparently the glue wasn't as super as we originally thought. Anyway, I'm going to go pick up wallowing supplies and set it all up for whenever we get home. Just watch our girl, okay?" When Logan nodded she buried herself in his arms one more time for support, clutching on to him as he ran his hand through her hair.

"I'll hold down the fort here, you just do whatever you need to."

RLRL

An hour and a half later Rory was entering the restaurant they had rented out for the evening when she heard Finn's voice break through the crowd. "So, there I was stark naked." She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she saw her husband, and the rest of the gang sitting in a booth in the back like it was a typical day at Yale, except with their wives instead of some dates and now their kids around the booths as well.

"Does he ever start a story in a different way?" She heard her mom's voice next to her and she couldn't help but smile.

"I haven't heard one, no. You eventually get used to it." She thanked the waiter as he brought a round of champagne to her and Lorelai when her gaze fell on to Conrad who was standing behind Ophelia who was sitting at the table with Finn and the rest of them with her hands on her ears. Conrad was rubbing her shoulders and laughing at the story Finn was telling. She felt a lump in her throat while she watched it.

"How are you doing with all of that babe?" Lorelai asked while gesturing towards the two teens.

"About as well as I can, he's seemed to open up a bit to Logan in the last few weeks which is great. And thankfully things at work have calmed down so I have more time to process all of it. Doesn't change the fact that I'm completely wigged about it all. But they seem to have a rhythm to the two of them. He cares about her and loves her and she's including him in decisions. I guess, thank goodness for the fact that they've been friends since before they were born practically, it helps."

"There's just no easy way to deal with it. I get it. And, how are you handling that?" She gestured towards Charlie in an Oxford hoodie sitting in between Finn and Logan, she had her head on her dad's shoulders and every few minutes you'd see a tear fall down her face.

"My incredibly brilliant, intelligent, beautiful daughter is leaving me tomorrow and going to a place where she'll thrive and take the world by storm. I'm a wreck." Rory laughed a little to herself. "I hate it mom. I hate it. I can't let her leave, but on the other hand I helped her pack her bags, I have Primed so much to our apartment in London, so we have it all there when we move her that I'm pretty sure her trust fund is depleted." Lorelai gave her a pointed look causing Rory to chuckle.

"Ah yes, the poor Rockefeller's, tell me, how is the London apartment?" She deadpanned to her daughter.

"Sorry." Rory couldn't help but want to roll her eyes at the fact that money could still be an issue between her and her mom. She could kind of understand her mom's initial distrust of Logan's financial assets and even though her mom now loved Logan and had for years she still held a bitter taste in her mouth over any kind of money topic.

"I noticed the Velcro wasn't attached tonight."

"Dumped her, on their way to the party." Rory took another drink before continuing. "He was on my porch step when I went home with all the wallow supplies. They were walking, she asked if he regretted saying he loved her, he decided that was the time to say he regretted that tonight was going to be the last night together, saying he didn't want to hold her back at college. She countered that he just wanted free reign to sleep with whomever. His dumb ass decided to say that it's not like anyone would tell her if he cheated."

"Wow, what a horribly dumb thing to say. And he told you all of this?"

"Yep, just sat in my movie room as I was getting things ready with his head in his hands muttering about how stupid he was. I asked if he wanted to come here and try to talk to her, he said he didn't have the right to mess with her night or her leaving any more than he did."

"Do you believe that he thinks it was a mistake?"

"I think he knows it was a mistake, but I don't think she's ready to listen, nor should she. She can go over there and enjoy the freedom for a bit."

"Rory! There you are! Do you remember that time Logan lost at strip poker?" Finn's voice carried over the crowd.

"I need to go cut him off. I'll be back."

RLRLRL

That night the four of them walked into their house with Conrad heading straight up to his room. "Don't forget, we have to be at the airstrip at 9 A.M." Logan called up to him as Conrad made his way up the stairs.

"Don't forget I'm still not behind this completely bullshit idea of yours." Conrad called back causing Logan to grumble behind him as he turned to face Rory and Charlotte.

"You two heading to watch movies?" When they both nodded Logan spoke again. "Okay, well the reminder about the time applies to you guys as well, and remember, I will kick you out of the plane if you call yourself," He pointed to Charlotte, "Mrs. Kravinski once throughout the plane ride." Rory let out a laugh. "Oh, don't act like you're exactly innocent Mrs. Cusack." Rory smiled.

"Well, it does have a better ring than Huntzberger." She winked at him as she kissed him. "But, you're much hotter."

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight you two." He told them as he walked up the stairs towards their room. With that the two girls made their way into the home theater where sure enough there was enough supplies to properly wallow, including the ice cream Rory pulled out of the freezer that they had in there for emergency ice cream moments. However, one thing that was out of place was a letter sitting on the food spread with one word in messy handwriting. _Lee._

Rory turned to Charlotte, "Do you want to be left alone babe?" She watched as Charlotte took a deep breath and shook her head as she tried to talk, when no words came out, she cleared her throat again.

"No, right now I want to spend the evening watching cheesy romance movies with my mom and forget that tomorrow I have to get on a plane."


	38. Oxford Part 2

**SO- Oxford Part 2**

 **A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, thank you all for the reviews, for everything. It seems like the reviews have somewhat dropped lately on my stories but I hope it's just the holidays. I will say I haven't written lately but** _ **Misters Before Sisters (one of my favorites by far!)**_ **got updated during the crazy Christmas weekend and it inspired me.**

 _Logan walked through the door exhausted, the office had been insane for 2 weeks, with no end in sight to the chaos. The reason for the insanity was great though, it was an expansion that they had finally figured out. They were now setting up an office in New York and the partners at his company had asked if he wanted to head it up. It had been five years since they had lived on the East Coast and while Rory had put on a brave face, and while she had a life in California, he knew she would be excited to get back closer to home. The only thing getting him through the exhaustion was the thought of telling Rory about the move but when he walked in the door he found Rory sitting in the corner of their laundry room sobbing into her knees, all thoughts of the move dissipated as he knelt next to her and held her while she cried. "Ace, what's going on? What is happening?"_

 _Rory sniffled a few times before she finally was able to but right as she opened her mouth a scream pierced through the house. "CON! Stop playing with my toy! It's my toy! You stop it right now!" Followed by a piercing scream from the two-year old of the house._

" _I assume it's been like this all day?" Logan asked as he took in his wife's appearance, she looked exhausted, and beat down by the constant pressures of the house and her work. Her blog had taken off, she was honest, and unapologetic as she gave her honest opinions about the depression she faced, the feelings of inadequacy of not doing what she had initially went to school for, she was brutal, and raw as she discussed just isolating moments of her life were. This had led to newspapers to reach out to her, wanting her voice in their paper, book publishers calling her phone, the only media company that had been absent was HPG and she couldn't be more thankful._

" _They just don't stop Logan. They're 4 and 2 and I'm telling you I've dealt with contract negotiations that were less stressful than some days with them. And I have a deadline by tomorrow night that I'm nowhere close to where I'm supposed to be. I just don't know how to keep doing this alone. And I'm sorry, because I know that you've been dealing with craziness at work and I know that I'm incredibly blessed to be working from home but that doesn't take away the exhaustion, or the fact that I'm 'on' from before the sun up to after the sun goes down. I'm so tired Logan." Her voice was resigned, there was no fight left as she said the words. There wasn't much more she could say._

" _I have an idea, let's take a trip back home. We can go see your mom and Luke. Maybe get them to watch tiny and tinier for a weekend while we head to New York, check out the real estate?"_

 _Rory's face scrunched up in tired confusion. "Why would we look at the real esta… Oh my god, the expansion! It's happening?! It's a go?!" Her once tear-filled face was now filled with a genuine pride as she jumped into his arms and hugged him._

" _It's actually happening Ace. They want me to move back to New York to head up the office. I know it's a big change, but you'll be closer to your mom, and it's just back home. I think it's a great opportunity. I told them I'd talk to you about it."_

" _Well, call them and tell them we're moving back!" She was so happy until there was another piercing scream as a bundle of brunette curls ran into the room followed by a mop of blonde hair. Rory groaned and tried to hide under the blankets she had just washed earlier._

" _Mommy, Conrad stole my toy and I want an applesa—DADDY! YOU'RE HERE!" Charlotte jumped into her dad's arms and Conrad tried to push his way into Logan's arms._

" _I am home, and I have an idea how about you, your brother, and I all go for a car ride while your mom does some work or lays down." He shot Rory a look and she mouthed her thank you to him as he put the babies back on the floor and stood up himself, he helped Rory up and kissed her forehead. "Enjoy the quiet. I'll be back in a few hours with dinner."_

Logan was brought out of his daydream when Rory yawned and stretched on his lap, she looked up at him and smiled before fully taking in her surroundings. "We're still in the air?"

"Yeah, we have about 45 minutes left. How did you sleep?" He asked her as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Fine, same I usually do on a plane." She watched as he wordlessly nodded to her statement as he continued playing with her hair. "Hey handsome, what is going on in that head of yours?"

"Just remembering when we decided to move back to New York. The kids were so little, and such hellions." He spoke with a sense of longing in his voice.

"And now they're perfect angels?" She asked him sarcastically, she usually didn't mind the reminiscing, but she could still remember the exhaustion that plagued her through those years.

"Well, now it's a bigger scale of hedonism. But at least they get along better now." With that both Rory and Logan looked over at their kids who had shared a row on the plane. Charlotte had propped her feet on Conrad's lap, and they watched as Conrad slapped her feet off in his sleep. "I didn't say they were perfect." Logan amended.

"I can't believe she's going to college in England. This was a terrible idea of yours letting her go." Rory nudged him with her elbow.

"I'm not dignifying that with a response I'll have you know." Logan answered her. "At least if she hates it, she can always come home, take a year off, sink a yacht, you know." He smirked down at Rory whose head was still in his lap.

"Over my dead body Huntzberger. Plus, I highly doubt she'll come back for a bit, especially with everything that happened last night."

"Yeah, did you ever find anything more out about that?"

"Since I know how much you love her and want to protect her, I'm going to refrain from going into specifics. He was an ass though. He knows it."

Logan's face shadowed over with anger and after a few minutes he calmed down. "I guess, as long as he knows he's an ass."

"He does. And you two are loud." Charlotte spoke with her eyes closed as she stretched out and purposely nudged Conrad with the heel of her shoe in his jaw. "Wake up loser."

"Are we going shopping?" He mumbled incoherently as he was trying to wake up.

"Most people snore, he quotes Mean Girls." Rory rolled her eyes as the pilot came over the intercom as they started to make their descent into Heathrow Airport.

RLRLRL

They had unpacked the last box in the dorm and Logan took a step back looking around the now crowded room. There had been a smaller scale of her Oxford wall back at home, a deep red comforter and sheet set, and everything else to make her dorm room complete. Rory stood back and looked around at the handiwork of the room that they had been working on for 3 days, before throwing her arm around Charlotte. "How does it look Tiny?"

"It looks great mom, thank you." Charlotte started to choke up as she looked around, taking it all in for the first time. This was her home now, right outside of her door were her suite mates that she would be living with for a year, right outside of her window was a campus that she got to explore, tucked into a city that was her new home, inside a country that was a foreign land for her. Before she knew what she was doing she turned to Rory. "Mom, can you… can you stay in London for a bit?"

Rory smiled at her daughter. "Your dad and Conrad are heading back, I head home in 2 weeks. Just in case."

Charlotte wrapped her arms around her mom and hugged her tighter. "Thank you, mom."

"You know, I'm offended, why didn't you want me to stay, or dad?" Conrad asked as he belly flopped onto her newly made bed.

"Well, for one, you don't know manners. And two, you need to get home to my best friend and niece or nephew and take care of them both. And, while I love dad, he can't pick out the good take-out like mom can." Charlotte said as she pushed Conrad's shoe clad feet off of her bed. Logan strode in at the tail-end of the conversation.

"I take great offense to that. I am an excellent take-out finder. Just because I can also enjoy the idea of a good homecooked meal does not make me inferior." He smiled at Charlie as he went to go hug her. "We have a few more days in and then we're out. But you know that we're always a FaceTime call away, or a plane ride if you're that desperate. The London apartment is around if you need someplace to escape for a little bit." With that he handed her a stack of wadded up bills.

"Dad, what is this for?"

Logan couldn't quite explain, he just knew it was the way he had to take care of her, and this was the easiest way he knew how to from across an ocean. "I just… I want you to enjoy your time here. Be careful, be respectful, work hard, but have fun. Make amazing friends, sometimes they overextend their welcome but they're worth it." He smiled at Rory. "Now, I need you to stay here while we leave for the airport, okay?"

"Why? I wanted to see you and Con off."

"Because my darling girl, if you come with me, I won't get on the plane." Logan hugged her as he looked across the room at Rory who was holding back tears. He remembered when he had told Rory that so many years ago, almost two decades now. He couldn't believe he was saying it to his own daughter. As he looked around the room, he realized that this was it for her. This was the right choice, even if it was killing him. Even if he had hated this idea ever since he saw that acceptance letter, she had chosen wisely, and he hated it. He hated that the little girl who made him and Rory grow up quicker than he had intended was now leaving their home for the first time in over 18 years. He squeezed her as tightly as he could, his eyes squeezed shut as well, trying to quell the tears that were threatening to fall. He moved to the side as Conrad stood up to say goodbye to his sister and Logan made his way to stand next to the Bonnie to his Clyde for over 20 years, as he put his arm around her shoulders he kissed the top of her head as they watched their kids say their goodbyes, all four of the Huntzberger's finally just letting the tears fall as the weight of what this goodbye would actually entail. It was the end of the era of the four of them, it was the end of their core family that Rory and Logan had clawed their way to build, and they couldn't shake how hard it was to say goodbye.

 **A/N: Didn't think about it until I was writing this last scene, but maybe the end?**


	39. Winter Break- Repost due to wrong word

**SO- Winter Break: Reposting because I accidentally put "infamous playlist and not infinite and it would've bothered me. Sorry!**

Conrad stood at the door of a penthouse apartment that he had been to numerous times before waiting for the door to be opened. His hands were buried into his pockets as he rocked back slightly on his heels. He wasn't even quite sure what he was doing here, it felt like if his whereabouts were found out by most members of his family, he'd be in the dog house with them, but he had to do something. Just as he was thinking this the door opened revealing a tall blonde man with blue eyes and a muscular build. "Good evening Mr. Dugrey, sorry to bother you but I was wondering if Henry was home from Yale yet? I want to talk to him."

"Of course, he's back in his room, it's good to see you back though. How's school going? And Ophelia?"

"School is good, mom and dad talked to the school so I could take extra courses, so I'll be clear to help out with the baby when it's born and Ophelia is hanging in there, she hates me most of the time for breathing wrong, but she seems to be feeling better." Conrad couldn't help but smile when he thought of the baby, even if it also led him to have a panic attack when he thought of how close her due date was actually approaching and how much of a toll it was going to take on all of them. "I think she's purposely not finding out what the baby is just to annoy me."

"I remember those moments, Henry is an only child by choice, even though between Catherine and I, it was me who was the overly emotional one. Everything she did I was a nervous wreck about until finally I thought she was going to stuff me in a closet until her water broke." He laughed for a minute to himself before continuing. "Listen, I'm not sure what happened fully between Henry and Charlotte, but he was a wreck for a bit so try not to be too hard on him, even if he probably deserves it."

"I won't Mr. Dugrey, I promise, a huge part of me just misses my friend." With that Conrad walked out of the room and down the hall that he knew well. He hadn't lied when he told Tristan he missed his friend, he had always liked Henry, before, during, and after the relationship with Charlotte, but it seemed like the moment Henry went off to Yale he cut off ties with all of them, not just Charlie. Once again, he stood in front of another door and took a deep breath and knocked.

The door flew open to reveal Henry standing there with a gym bag in his hand. "Oh, hey Con, listen I was actually just on my way out, can we do this another time?" He avoided eye contact with his friend as he went to shut the door behind him.

"I come in peace, sincerely, just can we talk for like 5 minutes and then you can go work on that freshmen 15 that you seem to think you gained?" They stood at the door for a few more minutes before finally Henry opened it back up and gestured Conrad inside.

"So, how's Phi?" Henry asked, attempting to break the ice.

"Crabby, beautiful, she's six months along and I can't even believe it."

"You guys ever make it official?"

"Nah, not yet, she won't let me."

"Stubborn little broad, that one. But you guys are good?"

"We're good." A quiet silence passed over the two of them for a few minutes before Conrad started back up. "Listen, she's coming home this weekend for a month for winter break. I'm not saying this in some kind of protective 'you hurt her, I kick your ass' kind of way. But I'll tell you this, she's doing well, finally. We had some moments where she really wasn't, having to drop you cold turkey didn't help either. It didn't help any of us if I'm honest. I'm just saying if you're around and if you want to talk to her, don't undo all the work she's done. And if it makes you feel any better, I've told her to not be a dick to you too, so this isn't some one-sided, misguided attempt to be a protective brother and blame the guy." Conrad sent Henry a smile. "Now, I will say, I missed hanging out with you, can I join you at the gym because I was going to head there tonight anyway?"

"Sure, should we invite James?" Henry asked, thankful that the tension was gone but not willing to say anything about Charlie.

"No, I think him, and Colin are busy organizing their sweater vests or something tonight."

RLRL

Rory stood at the entrance to their office watching as Logan worked, she felt like he hadn't moved in weeks, neither one of them had if she was being totally honest. Work had taken off, which was saying a lot considering how busy they had been in the past as it was. Admittedly, they had both been more than a little thankful for the workload that was on their plates. It helped them avoid the fact that Charlie's room was empty, that their son was not going to practice after school, but doctor's appointments for their grandchild. She felt herself shudder at that thought before a deep sigh from the corner of the office grabbed her attention back to Logan.

Logan, the man who had been her rock for 21 years, who had been steadfastly by her side when she unceremoniously dropped out of Yale, who fought and clawed his way to win her back, who took the final jump when he asked her to marry him. It all felt like so long ago. Before she knew it, she was walking over to him and slowly closing his laptop to get his attention before she sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck. "Hey handsome. How's work?"

"Never ending." He muttered into her hair as he pulled her closer.

"Well, we have to leave in an hour, unless you plan on having your baby girl call an Uber from the airstrip." She teased him as she felt herself relax into him for the first time in weeks.

"We can tell her she can hire one of the fancy Ubers, I'm sure she'll forgive us then." He lifted his head up and smirked at her.

"Such a good dad you are, relegating her to an impersonal pick-up for the first time she'll be home in months."

"Oh, fine, I guess we should go get her."

"Did you call Conrad, see if he was coming with?" She asked as she attempted to get off of Logan's lap, but he pulled her back down to him.

"Yeah, he's coming from the gym so he's just going to meet us there. I'm sure what will happen is they'll want to talk without us around, so they'll take Conrad's car back home because god forbid, we hear anything we're not supposed to."

"Well, at least we can say we didn't send an Uber if they ditch us."

"Always thinking with that head of yours." He pulled her head down to kiss her, it felt so good to kiss each other again after the craziness they had been enduring and all the stress that seemed to be hanging over the house. Logan barely pulled away as he ran his fingers up and down her arm. "How long until we have to leave?"

"Forty-five minutes, why?"

"Perfect, more than enough time." He kissed her again as he lifted her onto the desk.

RLRLRL

Conrad stood at the private airstrip waiting for his sister, he was excited she was coming home, excited to have a seemingly normal Christmas after the very much not normal semester he had just had. As he was waiting, he couldn't help but wonder where his parents were. That being said he was not prepared for the piercing scream that echoed through the hallway.

"CONRAD!" Just as he was unprepared for the loud volume of her voice, he was also unprepared for her to leap onto his back in a hug. "Oh my god, I missed you, I missed the states! The coffee there is atrocious." Conrad couldn't help but smile as Charlie spoke with already a slight English accent before he pushed her off his back.

"I'm sorry for your terrible life abroad, maybe you should just come up? I've heard Oxford isn't even that prestigious anymore, I'm sure NYU would suit you just fine. Or if all else fails, mom, dad, Lorelai, and Henry all say Yale has excellent coffee." He watched his sister's face fall as he said the last name and he immediately regretted it, but before he could say an apology, she had collected herself and looked around.

"So, little brother, where are Nick and Nora anyway?"

"What does an infinite playlist have to do with mom and dad?"

"Different thing, the next time we have a movie night, join us. But honestly, where are they?" Charlie asked as she motioned to her bags for Conrad to pick up for her, just then a loud scream was heard again.

"CHARLOTTE! You're home!" And with the same intensity as her daughter, Rory ran up and hugged Charlie as close to her as possible. "I'm sorry, we would've been here on time, but your flight came in early, I'm so sorry!"

"Plus, your mom got caught up in the office." Logan smirked as he joined the group and pried a now glaring Rory off of Charlotte and went to give her a hug. "It's so good to have you back kid."

"Why did neither one of you warn me about the horrific coffee situation? It would have saved me so much time finding the right place and just making it at home."

Rory smiled at her daughter but a part of her was sad at the word choice, it was strange to hear one of her kids call something else home, even if for all intents and purposes it was her home, but then she looked at her daughter who seemed genuinely happy and content and she pushed those feelings aside and tuned back into the conversation.

"Hey, we specifically told you to put that in your Yale pro list. But still, you chose Oxford." Logan smiled as he grabbed one of her bags to help Conrad who was looking like a pack mule and they all headed out to the parking lot. "Let me guess, you need to catch up with Conrad and you'll meet us back at home?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, actually, I have to drop someone else off at home." Conrad looked around awkwardly as he started towards his parent's town car to put the luggage in.

"Oh! Is it Phi? I miss her terribly, I need to catch up with her anyway." Charlie looked around for his car but then she noticed her brother's panicked expression. "Unless, it's someone else of the female persuasion you really don't want me to meet?"

"No, no it's not that, I swear." Conrad hurriedly sputtered out before another voice joined the group behind Charlotte and her mom.

"Hey Lee. How was England?" His cocky voice hit her hard and she could feel her body go rigid before she took a deep breath and looked her brother in the eyes with a glare that made him cold.

Logan looked at Rory whose eyes matched their daughters but whose face was decidedly less angry at their son before he leaned over to Conrad. "I bet you wish you just brought a girl with you and gotten that lecture, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks dad." Conrad looked at his sister who still hadn't turned around to see her extra visitor. "I swear, he was supposed to stay in the car." Quickly he turned to Henry. "You were supposed to stay in the damn car." Back to his sister. "I'm really sorry, we were working out and then I had to come to get you and, damn it you were supposed to stay in the car."

"I just wanted to see you. I'm sorry, I don't know why I got out of the car, but it's your brothers fault he's the one that showed up at my house today to talk to me." The cockiness was gone, replaced by a desperate voice that Henry really didn't want to have in front of his ex-girlfriend's parents but at this point he was desperate, he wasn't even planning on getting out of the car but then she was standing there, and he couldn't help himself.

"Oh, someone is in trouble now." Logan stage whispered to his son who was now looking anywhere but his sister.

"Hey, Henry, remember when we talked about being cool and not making my life harder? Why don't we work on that?" Conrad said through gritted teeth.

"Hey mom, dad, you said this town car was headed home, right?" At this, both Rory and Logan nodded. "Great. Let's go. Conrad, maybe go check on Ophelia or better yet, hang out with your new best friend." And with that Charlie slid into the town car without a word to Henry.

Outside the limo Rory turned to the boy behind her. "I hope you had a good freshman semester, give her time." Before she turned to Conrad. "I hope you bring the best gift you can find to your sister for this little ambush." At this she slid into the car right next to Charlotte.

"Henry, good to see you, Conrad, bring me Excedrin back because I have a feeling, we're both going to need it this evening. Also, please remember that Colin, Finn, and their families are going to come over this evening tonight so come home on time." He looked at both of them one last time and did the salute to them before he followed his wife and daughter.


	40. Welcome back

**SO- Welcome Back Dinner**

Rory and Logan were checking on the food in the oven and setting the table when they heard the back door open and watched as Conrad tried to sneak back into the house, when he looked up, he saw his mom looking into the oven and his dad setting the table. Conrad's blue eyes shot open quickly and he went to go open his mouth before he quickly shut it and tried to escape up the back steps of their home, hoping he could get away with not having any kind of conversation, however, all hope was dashed when he heard his mom call out his name.

"Conrad, where do you think you're going?" She asked as she closed the oven door and turned to face him.

"How do you do that? You weren't even looking at me!"

"You're the least stealthy person on the planet, you're loud and there's an aura of guilt that surrounds you, now where were you going sneaking in like a burglar in the night?" She asked again.

"You and dad just looked so busy, and I didn't want to be a bother, so I thought the most respectful thing to do was just to enter quietly and head upstairs, check on Charlie and make sure she isn't to jetlagged you know?" He smiled a mega-watt smile directed at Rory who rolled her eyes and Logan walked in with a scoff.

"That charm stopped working on your mother a long time ago, and after today you really think you're going to get away with it?" Logan raised an eyebrow to his son.

"Listen, Ophelia will be here in about 30 minutes, I suggest you shower and get cleaned up before she gets here because you know how the smell of the gym gets to her." Rory pointed out, avoiding the mishap from earlier, and trying to ignore the feeling of hurt at the baby news that she was still battling with. A part of her was happy, a small part, but a part. Another part was watching her son and his best friend try to figure out something that she had been trying for almost 19 years to figure out.

"I took a shower at the gym." Conrad exclaimed as he went to go smell his shirt.

"Well, I suggest you take another one, because she's sensitive and it's better to be safe than sorry." Rory pointed out.

"So, is Charlie still mad at me?" He asked, he knew he was in trouble because he brought Henry to the airport, but he said he missed her, he said he just wanted to see her, and make sure she was okay. Conrad really didn't think he'd get out of the car and confront his sister, he thought he'd hide in the shadows. But of course, the one time he tried to help his friend it bit him in the ass.

"She's not mad, she's hurt, she missed him too and she feels ambushed." Rory answered. "I know your heart was probably in the right place, but this is still hard for her. Just then they heard a crash from upstairs and all three of them cringed. "I would probably still stay away from her though."

"Yeah, uh, will do." He said quickly as he took the steps up to his room 2 at a time causing Rory to roll her eyes.

"One of these days he's going to break something by doing that."

"You sound like such a mom, Ace." Logan laughed as he came up to hug her. He could see the stress she had radiating off of her, pouring out in waves and he watched as her shoulders hunched more showing the stress. "Hey, come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the library. "What's going on?"

"Our daughter is home for a month before she heads back 'home' to London. Within the first half-hour of her being home Conrad makes her mad and if he's not careful he will start World War 3 with her. Speaking of Conrad, we still have to figure out where he's going to live and how he's going to help because there is no way in hell we're allowing him to shirk any responsibility here. We're hosting a dinner party here tonight where Conrad has to be on his best behavior, and even his best isn't great. I'm just not ready. Remember when they were 6 and the biggest issue was they didn't listen? Not that they lived an ocean away, or they were making us grandparents? I just want to go back, for just a minute I want the world to stop. I want to escape with you, I want to put the laptops, phones, responsibilities away and just take to the sea with you." She pleaded into his shoulder as she said it, and Logan, almost as a reflex, started rubbing her back.

Logan looked down and cupped her face in his hands. "You want to take to the seas?" He watched as she smiled a small smile that barely registered on her lips, let alone anywhere else. "Because we can take to the seas, we have a few weeks before Christmas, I would be happy to get you away from all of this, we can run away to the Bahamas, Fiji, hit up the Med, we can take to the sea, literally and legally if you want." Just as he could feel her body relax and calm with the visual of what he was saying they both heard the slamming of the front door and her body immediately went back into anxious mode. "We'll talk about this later, but I'm getting you away from this Ace, even if it just for a moment." He whispered into her ear as Finn's voice floated through the house.

"JUNIOR?! Is it true, are you home?!" Finn shouted throughout the home causing Rory to roll her eyes and Logan to chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure she's the only one who makes him that happy, and loud." Rory said as they made their way to the foyer where their guests were at.

"She's the first of the group, she holds a special place in his heart apparently." Logan answered as they came upon what should have been a group but was just Finn walking around. "Finn, where is your family?"

"Oh, they're coming, I just couldn't wait." Just then they heard footsteps running down the steps followed by a yell.

"Uncle Finn!" Charlie came barreling down just as the front door opened and Ophelia and Stacey, followed by Colin, Cassandra, and James came in, causing Charlotte to bypass Finn and barrel straight to Ophelia where she hugged her tightly before stepping back and observing Ophelia's stomach. "Oh my god, you're so big! I can't believe it!" Charlotte beamed at her oldest friend.

"I know! And just a few more months left so I still have plenty of room to grow, I can't even begin to describe how happy I am about that." Ophelia sarcastically remarked.

"Now, how come when she makes a comment about how big you are, she just gets a quippy remark, however if I make a comment, I get slapped?" Conrad asked as he came downstairs post-shower.

"Because you did this to her." All the women answered at the same time.

"I have to go check on dinner, and I have a bottle of wine open." Rory motioned for the women to follow her as Charlotte grabbed Ophelia's hand and led her to the steps up to her room, and Logan motioned for Colin and Finn to follow him into his office, leaving James and Conrad to follow the girls up the stairs but instead of going into Charlotte's room they turned to the right and went to Conrad's room.

RL

Ophelia sat on Charlotte's bed as Charlotte sat at the window seat staring at the busy New York street down below. "I remember you and I used to sit at this window every night for years and just look at the city." Charlotte spoke quietly before she looked back at her bed where Ophelia was rubbing her stomach. "Now look at you, you're all pregnant and glowy. Speaking of, am I getting a niece or a nephew?"

"Don't know yet, Conrad wants to find out, I like making him mad, so I refuse to find out." She crossed her arms across her chest as she said it.

"Phi, what's going on with the two of you?"

"Hey, dinner smells good, think it's done yet?"

"Phi, come on, what is it? We've been best friends since I was one, I'll take your side over his any day. Just what's up? Conrad has said you guys have been distant with each other." Charlotte pleaded as she made her way over to her bed and sat with her friend.

"He's being great, he really is. He takes care of me, goes to every appointment, he's had to change his soap 4 times because the smell keeps making me sick, he's not dating anyone, he's been great. But this wasn't what it was supposed to be, you know? I was supposed to have this life and these experiences and I don't know if I'll ever get those."

"Look at Lorelai, she still has those experiences, she still thrived, this is not some end of the road moment for you. Just like it isn't for my brother. The only difference is that you have my brother on your side, you said it yourself that he's been great. Who does he have? His life is changing too." Charlotte carefully pointed out. Not wanting to get in the middle of any of this but feeling like she should stand up for her brother at least for a moment.

"He has James."

"You've met James, right?"

"True. Hey, speaking of, do you remember when you said you'd marry James and I'd marry Conrad and then we'd be sisters?" Ophelia said quietly and with a smile on her face.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure we planned our weddings right at that seat over there. I still want a candy bar at mine."

"Oh, well of course, there's no other way." Just then they heard the crackle of an intercom that was supposed to be disconnected long ago.

"Loves! It's dinner time! Come on, I have to hear all your stories about England and convince you to come home." Finn's voiced sound like gravel through the old speaker. Both of the girls rolled their eyes and started to head downstairs, as they opened the door Ophelia and Conrad looked at each other with a pause and Charlotte saw the look pass between them, thinking quickly she took James and started pulling him towards the steps.

"Practicing for the wedding day there Charlie?" Ophelia asked with a joking tone causing Charlie to flip her off, when Conrad gave a questioning look, she shook her head and started to walk away before she stopped suddenly. "I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday."

"I know. It's in our calendar." He hated when she did this, acted like he wasn't present, that he didn't know what was going on, he tried to keep his tone from being short but there was still an edge.

Ignoring the bite of his tone she continued on with what she was going to say. "I thought maybe, we could find out what the baby is?"

"You're sure?" Conrad hated the plea that was in his voice but he did want to know, he wanted to prepare, to figure out what was happening, and even though knowing if it was a boy or a girl wouldn't change much, it was still important to him to know.

"Yeah, then you can take me shopping afterwards." She sent him a small smile that would have meant a lot on its own but then she ducked herself into his body and hugged him, allowing him to hold her for just a moment when the baby kicked in between them.


	41. The Finale

**SO- The Finale**

 **A/N: I've been thinking about ending this for a bit, and I think it's time to end this one too. I'm going to focus on Friends Forever after this because I have a very pointed way I want that to go and it will take a bit of effort. This story, I love, and the reasons why some chapters even exist is because of a single scene I had in my head that I just had to incorporate. That being said, as I was typing last chapter I 'saw' the final scene in my head and I just had to type it. Anyway, thank you all for reading, thank you all for sticking with me even if you didn't want to, and for the reviews.**

She had hidden herself in a room that she had spent countless hours in the past 4 years. She could hear her friends looking for her, she could feel the vibration of her cellphone as her parents were looking for her. But right now none of that mattered. What mattered is that she was done. Charlotte Victoria Huntzberger was done with her time in England, getting ready to head home for the summer before she started her graduate program at Yale. A compromise she made with her Uncle Finn her first Christmas break back home.

She was relieved in a way she didn't know possible, she was amazed that she had done it, proud that she had completed what she set out to do, but also undeniably sad that it was ending. No, not ending, ended. As of 30 minutes ago she was done, she had thrown her cap and then disappeared into the crowd before ducking into the library. She stood for a moment and looked around at the very walls that had hidden her for years, hiding her from the boys she didn't want to see, or the assignments she didn't want to face, or the friends who were wanting to go party or even have a Netflix binge when all she wanted to do was read, she would hide in here. Suddenly she heard the door close loudly and it made her jump before she saw her dad's silhouette and his voice cracked through the silence.

"Like mother, like daughter, huh? How did you get in here?"

"I know very powerful locksmiths." She smiled, it was the same line he would use every time he would barge into her room when they were teens and they weren't supposed to lock their door, or when he would open the door for her mom and she would ask how he got in, even if it was just the car door. Charlie and Conrad always loved that moment between the two of them, because every time the question was asked and answered they'd both smile at their inside joke but with a twinkle hidden behind it.

"Ah, so you're more like me than I thought. What are you doing in here kiddo? We have dinner tonight and everyone is looking for you."

"I'm just trying to remember it all." She said quietly as she looked around. "I didn't think I'd ever have this moment, you know? This moment of being done, of doing what I set out to do."

"You know, when I graduated, I had to go to London, and then a bit later after I had come home there was a big blowup and I had to find my own way, I had to rebuild my life. I remember that feeling of looking around and going 'okay, what now?' and the only thing that helped was having your mom by my side. She got it, she understood, she stood by me. And then you came along, and god help us all, your brother did too. I had the three of you behind me. Guess what, now we get to be behind you while you go off to grad school and conquer that too."

"Think I can do it?"

"Depends."

Charlotte looked up, she expected him to say of course, to finish off this little pep talk on a high note, but apparently, he was going for the realist approach today. "Okay, I'll bite, what does it depend on?"

Just then the door opened for a second time and a four-year-old little boy with piercing green eyes and blonde hair came barreling through the door. "Aunt Charlie!"

"Matthew Lee Huntzberger! Get back over here right now!" Conrad's voice sounding extra loud in the stillness of the library. Charlotte couldn't be happier when she heard her nephew's voice though, she had missed him so much and facetime could only do so much. She also always felt a sense of pride when she heard his full name, it was James' middle name and Lee for her.

"Stop raising your voice in a library it's rude." Rory reprimanded, following behind her son and grandson.

"Ace, we talked about it, don't play sexy librarian in public, save that for the suite later." Logan winked at her as he walked up to her and kissed her.

"Guys, your grandson is right there." Conrad pointed out as Charlotte picked her nephew up and hugged him tightly.

"So, why did the party get moved in here?" Rory asked, trying to get the conversation where Logan lead it to.

"I just wanted one last look. Now come on, dad said something about lunch." She tried to usher her family out, taking one last sniff of the comforting smell that was surrounding her for the last time. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and she waited a few steps behind everyone before she checked it. * _Congratulations Lee, I always knew you had it in you. I hope I got the time difference right, I set my clock to get it. I'm just so proud of you. Also, I hope you don't get caught at this grad party like you did your last one. ;) *_

Charlotte couldn't help but smile as she read it, it had been five years since they had officially gotten together, and 3.5 years since they had decided to try to be long-distance friends. She had a few boyfriends at school, no one that particularly stuck, but she had been constant friends with Henry. It had started the day they were set to leave for their now traditional day after Christmas vacation. Along with the other families. It started her first year at school, her mother's stress levels were high, and they all decided they needed a break somewhere tropical, so they all took off for the Bahamas and over the past four years they picked a new location.

 _Flashback to Day After Christmas Charlotte's first year at college_

 _The doorbell rang and Logan answered, he saw the same nervous energy emanating from the boy that he had all those years ago when he came to ask Lorelai for help winning Rory back. Even though Logan knew he should be mad he couldn't help but send the kid at his doorstep a small smile. "I'm guessing you're not here to see Con?"_

" _Lord it would be easier if I was." Henry blurted out before turning a shade of red._

 _Logan couldn't help but laugh at that as he stepped aside to let him in. Just then Rory walked by the foyer and shook her head. "What Henry?" Her voice was clipped, angry, and she reminded him so much of Charlotte when she was mad._

" _Hello Mrs. Huntz—uh Rory—Uh maam." Henry sputtered out as he was trying to figure out a way to be polite. Sure, Rory had been nice to Henry, even letting him talk on the night of the break-up, but he could tell that niceness was waning, probably because he got out of the damn car. Stupid car, stupid Conrad for saying where he was going and planting ideas in his head._

" _Oh, kid, you're really not doing well are you." Logan laughed as he called Charlotte down._

" _Are you and Conrad just trying to piss her off before we leave? I'd like this to be a nice vacation that is already going to be a mess because of your big mouth inviting the boys and now this? You know what, I'm going to go pack." Rory stormed off to the steps passing Charlotte as she was making her way down. "Henry's down there. Good luck." Her mother warned her._

 _Logan saw his wife's expression as she stormed off and immediately cast his eyes downward, scratched the back of his neck and motioned toward the steps. "I better, uh, go take care of this. Good luck Henry."_

 _She walked into the foyer and slightly motioned for him to follow him, she made her way to the movie room and closed the door and flipped a switch. Henry couldn't help but look around and remember every night they spent here, every crappy movie, every group hangout, the night he cried as he watched his ex-girlfriend's mom prepare a wallow night for the girl whose heart he had just broken. He had to wonder why here? Was it a punishment? "It's soundproof, I figured that would be best." She answered his unasked question. He nodded in acknowledgement._

" _Planning on doing a lot of screaming?" He asked with a wink and then immediately hated himself, he had meant it as a joke, something to light the mood but judging by the look of pure anger it was definitely the wrong thing to say._

" _Are you serious right now? That's what you go with? Sorry, I'm not one of your Yale sluts that just hops into bed with you. That's what it's like now, right? That's why you dumped me?" Her voice was screaming, and he was suddenly very thankful she had soundproofed the room._

" _No, Lee, it's not—"_

" _Don't call me that! Stop calling me that! Just stop. You got to walk away, you got to be the big man and say you dumped me. You got to be the winner, just stop. You didn't have to show up when I came home, you certainly didn't have to show up today. You have other girls what could you possibly need to come here for? To rub it in my face that the boy I am in love with saw me as disposable? Or that the boy that I wanted to be with so badly I broke every damn rule of mine considered it to be easy to cheat on me? You have to stop, stop showing up where I'm at, stop showing up at my house, just stop." Her whole body was heaving, getting the workout of keeping the tears at bay but making sure her voice conveyed every damn ounce of pain she was feeling._

" _Charlotte, I missed you."_

" _No."_

" _What?"_

" _No, you didn't miss me. I was replaceable to you. I bet you did replace me, night after night after night." She spat at him and he felt every word as it hit him. "So, tell me, did you wait until you got fully unpacked at Yale before the first girl was in your bed?"_

" _Stop." He grounded out through his teeth, trying to keep himself from losing it._

" _Or did you just take one straight from freshman orientation?"_

" _Stop!"_

" _I hope you at least gave them a souvenir T-Shirt. 'I endured a night with Henry DuGrey and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt.' Blazed across their chest."_

" _GOD DAMN IT STOP!" Henry finally lost it at her. How could she think that lowly of him? He had been the one that went after her first, he's the one that fought for so long, he was heartbroken first, he said I love you first. "You had your turn to act like I was freaking traveling carnival—"_

" _Well if the safety strap fits." She glared at him as she said it._

" _You think I didn't miss you? You think I cut off all communication with you and everyone else from this group because I didn't care? I missed you Lee, I missed all of you guys, but I missed you, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't breathe sometimes without you. I shut down social media because I saw how happy you looked, how beautiful you looked, how was I supposed to live with that? How was I supposed to be okay with that? I broke up, not because I wanted to be single but because I couldn't stop the fact that we were going to be on opposite sides of a damn ocean, and I didn't want to be the reason you stayed home on a Friday night waiting for me to call! I thought I was doing what was right, I thought it was best for us. I still do, not because I want to be a Ferris wheel, but because we would just be holding each other back."_

" _Then why are you here?"_

" _Because I had to see you. Because every ounce that was screaming to get away from you, couldn't. I couldn't stop myself from asking Con to come along to see you, I couldn't stop myself from showing up today, I just keep finding myself chasing you. I know that we can't be together, but I miss you. Even before we started dating, even before we started a relationship, we were friends. I want to be friends with you Charlotte. I want to be close to you in any way that I can be."_

" _How am I supposed to be friends with the boy I'm in love with?" She asked quietly and Henry was positive he stopped breathing if only for a moment._

" _The same way I'm supposed to be friends with the girl I'm in love with, painfully, and stupidly. I'm not saying this will be easy. I'm not saying that seeing pictures of you out with friends or when you start dating again won't kill me, but damn it. I can't just cut you out, I can't quit you." He pleaded until he saw her glare at his reference at the end, it was the first time he let out a small smile towards her._

" _I don't think I can do it Henry." Just then the door to the theater opened and Logan entered waving a white flag._

" _Sorry to interrupt but we have a plane to catch kid." He directed to Charlotte. She silently nodded and refused to make eye contact with Henry as she walked out of the room. When Henry gathered himself, he went to leave as well before Logan stopped him. "In Omnia?" Logan asked with a pointed look._

" _Paratus." Henry answered causing Logan to nod and look around once more before he looked back at Henry._

" _It'll be okay. She's just, she's her mother and I's child and that comes with a stubborn streak longer than the distance between New Haven and London, trust me."_

 _Later that night, as Henry laid on his bed hitting himself over the head for pouring his heart out to a girl who didn't seem to give a damn about him he heard his phone chime. *_ _ **So, what does friends look like? ***_

They had been friends for all this time, anytime she was in town they get together for dinner, drinks, he'd hang out with the group or just the two of them, but they had constantly remained platonic, if you didn't count that drunken night over this last Christmas that no one ever mentioned. Yep, they had been friends, and it was destroying her.

She caught up with her family as they made their way into the car they had rented for their stay in England. "So, Con, where's my best friend? I'd much rather see her than your face."

"She had a few finals, I figured I'd take Matty here so she could finish in peace." He answered, tousling his son's hair.

"Aw, such a good boyfriend, aren't you?" She teased as she grabbed her nephew from her brother's arms. Conrad and Ophelia had finally started dating at the start of this school year, even if they had lived together in an apartment together ever since they graduated high school and before they both started at NYU. Ophelia had made him work for it, made sure he was in for the long haul and even though he had a few missteps he was finally unbelievably happy.

"Well, lord knows Phi would have my butt if I wasn't."

"Yes, let's hope Matt gets his smarts from her instead of you."

RLRLRL

They sat on the private plane, heading back for New York when Rory walked back into the bedroom that was on the plane. She saw Logan looking at something on his laptop and took a second to really admire him. The small bit of gray in his beard and in his hair, his still muscular arms showing how fit he was, the glasses perched on his nose as his eyes flitted across the screen. She heard him clear his throat and she jumped and stared back at him.

"Were you just checking me out?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Blatantly." She answered bluntly and with a smile that matched his. "And unapologetically."

"Well, are you going to keep staring, or are you going to come over here and sit by me?" He asked, patting the bed next to him.

"Oh, we're so demanding today. What are you reading anyway?" She asked as she crossed the room, sat on the bed and made herself more comfortable.

"Well, I started by doing work, because one of us has to and since someone was too busy being a blubbery mess at the graduation, I figured it would be me." He shot her a small smile. "But then, uh, I got an email from Honor. Mitchum passed away." He said it with a detached tone, and she looked him over. There didn't seem to be any longing, any hurt or sadness, it just simply was.

"Logan, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I mean the last time we talked to the man was that day in the Hamptons, and before that it was only in polite society settings. He had been dead to me for years, Ace. I'm okay. Honor seems to be doing okay. I do want to go to the funeral for her though, but otherwise, I just want to wipe my hands clean of it."

"Of course, we can go. I'll talk to Honor see when everything is, but of course we'd go."

"Thank you, babe." He softly said as he entwined their hands together. He couldn't help but just hold her as the reality of the situation hit him, but he had not been lying when he told Rory that he was fine, he had made his peace a long time ago.

RLRL

They got off the plane at the landing strip and as they made their ways off the plane they were stopped by a loud scream, waking Matthew who was sleeping on Conrad's shoulder. Rory and Logan stopped their conversation to look up and see what had caused the commotion. When they did, they saw all of Charlotte's bags that she had been carrying on the ground and her hands covering her mouth while her big eyes were trained on Henry Dugrey, on one knee, in the middle of the tarmac.

"Charlotte Huntzberger, I have wasted so many years of my life pretending I could be your friend, pretending that everything I felt was normal and like it wasn't killing me inside, but I've been waiting for you for four years and I'm done waiting. I'm done trying to pretend that I haven't been in love with you since our junior year in high school, I'm done pretending like our hook up at Christmas was a night of drunken mistakes—"

"Henry, dude toddler and her parents are right here." Conrad chimed in but Rory and Charlotte shushed him.

"I'm done pretending like this isn't it for me, that you're not it for me. Because you are. You always have been, you always will be. I love you Charlotte, I truly do. So please, can we stop this bullshit charade, and will you just marry me?" There was a silence that was only filled by quiet tears for a minute before Charlotte breathed out a yes between sobs. "Wait you said yes?" He asked with a sense of awe, he had been wanting that answer, if the very expensive ring was any indication, but he was really scared that the longer the silence went the more the answer would be no.

"Yes, it's a yes! Oh my god!" And then she jumped into his arms, causing the ring box to fall onto the ground.

"See, she knows how to answer in a timely manner." Logan nudged Rory lightly causing her to smile.

"I think your life turned out just fine Huntzberger, even if it did take me a while to answer."


	42. The Epilogue

**SO- The Epilogue- 3 Years Later**

 **A/N: I'm back! Didn't expect to see this pop back up I bet. Yeah, neither did I. Until I was thinking of a scene for my book and this popped into my head because I missed them so much. Not just Rory and Logan but this version of R/L. I hope you enjoy this brief little snippet.**

"This house is too big." Logan announced as he walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arm around his wife's midsection. Burrowing his face in her neck and kissing her softly.

"This house is not too big and stop distracting me, I'm trying to get the candy ready for Matthew and for the Trick or Treaters that we have." She tried and failed to push him away, causing him to double his distraction efforts.

"It is too big. There is two of now living here, there has been pretty much since Charlotte left 7 years ago thanks to Conrad moving in with Ophelia. And we kept this house in case Charlotte needed to move back home after graduation but she immediately moved in with Henry and then we were waiting to see if Conrad screwed up to badly and Ophelia kicked him out but considering they're getting married in 2 months I don't see that happening."

"We know him. He could still mess it up." Rory pointed out as she opened up the last bag of candy to dump in the bowl. Causing Logan to look over at the pile of bags she had sitting on the table.

"How much candy did you buy? We don't even get that many trick or treaters around here."

"No, but we do get Conrad, James, Matty and Lorelei every year so I figured I should stock up."

"Fair enough. When is everyone supposed to arrive anyway? I'm surprised Matt hasn't been on our doorstep since he got out of school today."

"Con and him tried to be here, luckily Ophelia has a head on her shoulders and knew we had to much work and wouldn't even be here until later in the evening. Plus, we have to wait until the sun goes down because there's no reason to trick—"

"Yes, yes I've heard the speech about waiting until it is peak spookiness outside. Now, back to what I was saying, this house is too big."

"No, it isn't!" Rory protested as she set the bowls of candy at the front door. "And even if it was, this is place where the kids grew up. I know we had the house out in California where we brought them home, but this is where they took their kindergarten pictures, this is where we watched them grow up and where they had their first heartbreaks and first homework assignments. The hallways have their artwork down the hallways leading to rooms that are still decorated how they were when they moved out. I can't pack all of that away. I can't sell it to someone who won't take care of it, who won't love it like I do."

Logan looked at Rory who had tears in her eyes. Thankfully he felt the same way she did to an extent and had a plan. "You're right. This is a family home and while we have a family, we're also empty nesters with a grandson—"

"And hopefully another grandkid soon if Charlie and Henry would—"

"No, no, no you promised them no pressuring!" Logan stopped her before she could focus on anymore grandkids. "But we are empty nesters. We're getting to our 50s and it's just the two of us. We don't need this big house and I don't necessarily want to sell it to a developer or something either. So, I was thinking we should give it to Conrad and Ophelia and Matty. Their apartment is wonderful. But they've had it for years. Matt can have his own memories here he can take his first day of school pictures here every year. If they have more kids, they can fill the rooms our grandkids can have their first heartbreaks and their artwork lining the walls. It can be their wedding present from us. Charlotte and Henry got an insane wedding, and a beautiful honeymoon from us, let's do this for Conrad and Ophelia." He looked at her with hope in his eyes. He knew they needed to get out of this house, it was too big for just the two of them and he had already bought a great apartment with a theater room for her and a huge room they can turn into a playroom for the grandkids if it did become plural.

"Well, that's not the worst idea you've ever had."

"Wow, thanks ace for that vote of confidence." He smiled at her as he watched her weigh her options. "Do you want to make a pro/con list?" The glare he received was well worth it. "I'm just saying, those tend to work in my favor." When her glare remained, he stepped closer, pushing her towards the wall and dipping down and kissing her neck again. "C'mon Ace. Think about it tonight but I'm right. You know I'm right." Kissing her neck before taking her lips on his he followed her lead as she wrapped her arms around his Captain America costume clad waist, and he grabbed one of her black leather legs and wrapped it around his legs. "Have I told you how happy I am we did Avengers costumes this year? Because I don't know a single woman who pulls of Black Widow like you do." He whispered into her ear. Just as he was about to ask how much time is left before everyone is supposed to arrive the front door opens.

"Bloody hell mate! Your grandson is coming over for Christ's sake, you couldn't control yourself for more than a few moments?!" Rory and Logan split apart quickly both smiling.

"Well thank god it was just you entering the house then, huh? Where's Colin and the wives?"

"They're slow. Can't keep with my spritely self."

"It doesn't help that you had your driver cut us off like we were in the Amazing Race Finn." Colin answered as they walked into the foyer through the open front door. Followed closely by Conrad, Ophelia, and Matt who was just dressed in his Iron Man costume.

"Well look at my handsome man!" Rory greeted him and scooped Matt up in a hug as he reached for the candy bowl behind her.

"Hi grandma Rory! Grandpa Finn! Give me candy!"

"Is that the magic words for tonight?" Finn asked, holding the candy above his head causing the little boy to wiggle in Rory's arm.

"Oh, for the love of, Finn give him the candy, wiggle worm here will be dropped if he doesn't stop moving."

"Matt! Stop moving! Dad, stop taunting my son." Ophelia said as she gave Rory her coat and leaned in for a kiss on the cheek.

They all moved into the living room as they waited for the rest of their party to join them. Not having to wait long until the door opened, and Lorelei's voice carried into the living room. "Where's my favorite little man on the planet!?"

"Right here Lorelei!"

"Not you Conrad, you haven't been my favorite for 6 years." She answered rounding the corner into the living room. Her eyes immediately settling on Matt. "There he is!" She scooped him up just like Rory did and snuggled him. "My goodness, Robert Downey Jr has nothing you!"

"I don't know, RDJ has him beat on the drug addiction, at least so far." Logan piped in as he wrapped his arms around Rory.

"Well thank god for that." Charlie answered coming into the room followed by James and Henry. "Now, give me my nephew." She smiled as she said it but Henry's face clouded over in concern that only Rory seemed to catch.

Before Lorelei could hand him over, Henry intercepted and grabbed him and started tickling him. "Well is it almost time to send this crazy out for Trick-or-Treating?" He asked, diverting attention from the interception and missing Charlie's glare.

"Yes! Candy! Let's go! Avengers UNITE!" Matt shouted as he started charging for the door.

"Alright, who all is staying behind and drinking and who is going with the little gremlin?" Logan asked as he watched Finn starting to make his way to the bar.

"Ah, ah, ah Grandpa Finn, you are both going around the block so put down the scotch." Rory shouted out. She pointed towards Logan. "I don't know why we ask this, every year, the men go out, every year the women stay here with drinks and horror movies. Stop trying to break our tradition just because he's getting to fast for you and he's wearing you out old man." Rory winked at him.

"Fine, but one year the roles will be switched." He pointed right back to her.

"Fat chance of that ever happening." Lorelei came in with a tray of red solo cups of the witches brew Rory makes every year, passing them out to those in the room. "Amuck, Amuck, we're getting Drunk." She smiled at the women before turning to the men. "While you guys get exercise." She poked Luke's shirt. "Yes, you definitely could use it. Now, out with you all!"

"Actually, before you guys leave, can we talk to you guys for a minute?" Charlotte asked the group as Henry held her hand and smiled before she took her jacket off showing a shirt that said 'Don't Eat Pumpkin Seeds' right above her stomach. Causing Rory to jump up and down and squeal while rushing to give her daughter and son-in-law a hug.

Right before Logan left to take the boys around the block in the Trick-Or-Treat group around the neighborhood, she held him back, "You're right. This isn't our home anymore. Tonight let's talk to Conrad and Ophelia."


End file.
